


with you here between

by theragingprophet



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Chara Has Issues, Chara Is Their Own Warning, Chara Needs a Hug, Chara Uses Sign Language, Fluff and Angst, Food Issues, Found Family, Frisk Has Issues, Frisk Needs A Hug, Frisk Uses Sign Language, Frisk is a Sweetheart, Gen, Houseplant Flowey, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Non-Binary Chara, Non-Binary Frisk, Soft Chara, Trust Issues, Undertale Saves and Resets, dear god someone help these poor children, there will be eventual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-06-06 02:08:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 131,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15184421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theragingprophet/pseuds/theragingprophet
Summary: They meet in the darkness, in that instant after death. They’re all angry, and frightened, and more alike than they know.These four children - Frisk and Chara, Chara and Frisk, they all have somewhere important to be. They all have a desperate need, something that they cannot abandon no matter what.They have to keep going, keep pushing forward, no matter how many times they fail. No matter how many times they die, and meet up in that darkened place again.After all - they still have the DETERMINATION to see this journey through.





	1. lovers work, so that when body and soul

Frisk had always believed in monsters. It just seemed the thing to do, really, when you lived in a town like Ebott.

All sorts of things happened in Ebott - strange, sometimes scary things. It was often doubly so for Frisk, because Frisk could never hear the strangeness coming.

It was alright, though. Frisk’s mother always kept a very tight grip on their hand, and didn’t allow the strangeness to take them, even when other people sometimes whispered that she should.

“I love you, my child,” Mother would say, and Frisk followed the shapes her mouth made, struggling to catch up. But they always did, in the end, and they would smile up at her.

*I love you too!* Frisk would say, but with their hands instead of their mouth. And because they loved each other, they didn’t listen to the people who whispered about strange eyes and demons and freakish, silent children.

Even as Frisk grew older (“But not _too_ old,” their mother would say, clutching onto their hand like a lifeline), they still loved each other very much.

But that didn’t mean that everything else had stayed the same. Their mother, always so very tired, began to sleep more and more. Frisk didn’t mind this, because they knew that when a person was tired, it just meant that they had to rest. Frisk had never gone to school, but they visited the library all the time, and the library had many books on the subject.

 _When a person is tired,_ those books said, _they have to rest. Some people have to rest more than others, because they are more tired than others. Don’t worry. They’ll always wake back up._

So Frisk didn’t worry. They knew that their mother would always wake up. And she did! But sometimes, she woke up shivering and crying, pulling Frisk close and giving great, heaving sobs. It hurt Frisk, to see their mother like that, but they didn’t know how to help.

“Sometimes, monsters can find you when you’re asleep,” Mother would say. “Sometimes, they won’t leave, and they try to keep you.”

*That’s scary,* Frisk would say, hands trembling. *How can I make them go away?*

“You just have to wake up, my child. You just have to wake up.”

One day, mother didn’t wake up.

Frisk waited for a long time, shivering in the forgotten bus stop where the two of them had been staying. Eventually, after a whole day had gone by without mother waking up, no matter how much Frisk shook her or made frustrated grunts, Frisk went to find an Adult.

A real Adult, not like the fake ones that seemed to inhabit most of Ebott. Mother explained that a real Adult would help you, and none of the adults Frisk had ever seen were very helpful.

But they visited the library a lot, and read lots of books. And in those books, the characters would go to the police when something was wrong. So, Frisk went to the police.

It was difficult, because the police didn’t understand Frisk’s hand-words, but Frisk eventually managed to tug a couple of officers back to the lonely bus stop, hoping perhaps that a real Adult would be able to wake their mother.

One of the officers went to their mother, and after a moment of fidgeting, shook their head. The other looked down at Frisk, and was very quiet.

“Oh, child,” they said finally, and there was an expression on their face that Frisk couldn’t quite place. “I’m so sorry.”

Frisk tried to ask questions, eventually resorting to waving their hands in the air out of exasperation and not a small amount of anger, but the officers still didn’t understand. They made calls, talking amongst each other, and one of them kept their hand clamped firmly on Frisk’s shoulder, as if afraid that they would be taken away by the strangeness that enveloped Ebott.

It wasn’t nearly as comforting as when mother did it.

Frisk was beginning to think that these people weren’t real Adults after all. They weren’t being very helpful.

More people came to the park, more people talking with words that Frisk couldn’t hear. It was very frustrating, especially when they all kept looking at Frisk with those unreadable faces and sad, sad eyes.

They took Frisk back to the police station, and there was a woman there who smiled at Frisk very kindly, if somewhat strained. Frisk wanted to ask where they had taken mother, if Frisk would be able to visit her soon -

But still, no one understood. The woman at the police station just had Frisk sit down in a chair, and gave them some water to sip on. She also brought some bandaids, which made Frisk confused, before realizing that they must have fallen at some point, because their knees were all scraped and bloody.

They didn’t remember falling. Everything was rather fuzzy, actually, and Frisk was having trouble concentrating. Vaguely, they worried that they may have fallen prey to the strangeness without mother there to protect them, but after they had sat for a while and drank their water, they felt much more balanced.

“Which ones do you want?” the nice lady said, holding up two different boxes of bandaids.

One of them had a pattern of pretty, multi-colored flowers, and the other had words plastered all over them, like ‘wham!’ ‘bam!’ ‘pow!’ and Frisk thought they were both pretty cool. Still...

The lady smiled at them, still kind, still strained. Somehow, Frisk thought this was a test. That sort of thing happened all the time in the stories mother told them - when entering another realm, the hero would be offered a choice. What they decided to do would prove the type of person they were. Heroes always made the right choice, of course, but Frisk found themself feeling uncertain. 

What was the right choice here?

After a beat of silence, the lady seemed to give up on getting an answer.

“How about both?” she said. “Is that alright? Both of your knees are scratched, so you can have a couple of each!”

Frisk brightened, nodding vigorously. That was probably the right choice. If Frisk had an equal amount of both, no feelings would get hurt. Mother always said that was the best way to make things fair. Everyone had to share, and it had to be equal.

Frisk knew that mother really meant it, even though sometimes Frisk got the sneaking suspicion that mother would give Frisk more food than she would keep for herself. That wasn’t equal. But mother always denied it and said she was fine, and mother never lied, so Frisk figured that it was probably okay.

The lady carefully stuck the bandaids on their knees, two each. Frisk swung their legs back and forth, admiring their new additions. Carefully, they signed *t h a n k y o u* with their fingers, and the lady seemed to get what they were trying to say, even though she clearly didn’t understand.

“Oh, you already know sign!” she said, sounding delighted. “That’s wonderful. It’ll make it much easier for you to get adopted.”

... _Adopted?_

Frisk knew what that word meant. Sometimes the children in the books they read would be adopted, and they always seemed very happy about it, but Frisk didn’t want to be adopted. Kids were only adopted because they didn’t have their own family, and Frisk had a family! They had mother!

They must have made some kind of distressed noise, because the lady’s grin faltered, and she scrambled to explain herself.

“That won’t happen right away, dear, of course not! You’ll probably have to go into foster care first, and you’ll be going to the doctor’s soon for a checkup, so - "

Frisk didn’t want that. Frisk didn’t want _any_ of that.

They knew how this went - the books had explained it all. Another family would take Frisk in, and they’d try to change everything. Frisk would lose it all.

The thick, woolen tights that had served them for so long - sure, there were holes in the knees and they were somewhat worn down in places, but mother had bought them just for Frisk. Some nice people had given them money, and it was getting colder, so the two of them went to a big department store and bought the very best tights they could find. By the end of it, Frisk had tried on about every pair in the store and their mother couldn’t stop laughing at all of the silly poses they would make, but they had found them. The store employees probably hated them, but Frisk couldn’t bring themself to care. It was one of their fondest memories.

Their striped sweater - something that mother told them used to be her own when she was little, had patches on the elbows but a sense of love so thick that Frisk could almost taste it. Grandmother had made it herself, a long time ago, and whenever Frisk wrapped their arms around themself, it felt like getting a big hug from a relative they had never known.

This new family - they would take that away. They would get rid of Frisk’s clothing, and try to make Frisk speak, and tell them in that annoyed tone ‘ _you have to be a girl or a boy what’s wrong with you what’s on your birth certificate this is what happens when people like_ that _try to raise a child_ ’ - and, and, and -

Frisk didn’t want a new family. They just wanted their mother.

“Wait here for a minute, okay sweetie?” the lady said. Frisk wasn’t sure if they could describe her as nice anymore, because she was trying to do something that Frisk didn’t want, and that wasn’t a very nice thing to do. “You’ll be off to the doctor’s soon, one of the nice officers will take you. Just wait here, okay?”

Frisk nodded, but they had a plan. They didn’t want to be adopted, and they didn’t want to go to the doctor’s either - mother said they were very expensive, and Frisk knew that they didn’t have enough money for something like that. They needed to save it for food and other important things.

Frisk knew what to do.

When the lady left, presumably off to get a police officer to take Frisk to the doctor, Frisk stood up. They brushed off their tights, firmed their resolve, and walked right out of the police station. No one tried to stop them, because Frisk knew how to walk in a special way their mom had taught them.

“If you walk like you know exactly where you’re going,” she had explained, “then people will think you’re off to do something very important, and they won’t bother you.”

And it wasn’t even really lying, per se, as Frisk did have something important to do. Frisk had to go find an Adult.

Frisk had decided very quickly that these weren’t the type of Adults their mother had told them about, which meant it was no real loss if Frisk decided to leave. They didn’t listen, anyway. Frisk had tried to explain that mother needed help, that she was just very tired sometimes and needed help to get up, but they didn’t listen. Even when Frisk had resorted to writing it down on a piece of paper, they still just shook their heads.

Absolutely useless, that. So they couldn’t be real Adults. A real Adult would know what to do, after all. So Frisk had to go find one. It would probably be pretty hard, considering that Frisk had never seen any real Adult other than their mother, but they were sure that one had to exist _somewhere_.

Down the street Frisk went, walking until the police station was far behind them. They stopped, every once in a while, and tried to talk to someone, but no one answered. Some people sneered, or muttered things that Frisk couldn’t quite make out because they would deliberately turn away, but Frisk didn’t mind. These people weren’t real Adults, so they didn’t know any better.

Still, Frisk stayed Determined. They’d find a real Adult, and they’d know right away - after all, a _real_ Adult would be able to understand them, just like mother did. A real Adult wouldn’t ask Frisk what was on their birth certificate, or try to take away their sweater, or tell them that they had to get adopted.

A real Adult would help them.

Farther and farther, Frisk wandered, until they had gone farther than ever before. There was a mountain, rising up into the sky, and they’d never seen it from this close before.

“Careful there, child,” an older man cautioned them. Frisk, almost without their notice, had stepped up to the wire fence meant to keep people out of the mountain, and was staring up, up, up.

Frisk blinked, tilting their head in question.

“You shouldn’t go up the mountain,” he warned. It was a bit difficult to make out what he was saying, thanks to his bushy beard, but Frisk worked through it. “People who go up the mountain never return.”

He had a thick scarf, and was wearing two pairs of gloves. This was a type of adult that Frisk knew quite well, so Frisk wasn’t scared. People like this always told scary stories, trying to make each other shriek and laugh around the fire.

Still, Frisk was curious.

*W h y n o t ?* Frisk finger-spelled, going slow in an effort to help the man understand.

It took him a moment, but he seemed to get the gist of it.

“Why not?” the man guffawed. “Hell if I know! The legends say that there’s monsters up in those hills, but if there are, I ain’t never seen one.”

Monsters? ... _Monsters!_

Frisk’s eyes widened, and they grinned widely. That was it! Mother hadn’t woken up yet because she was still dealing with her monsters! All Frisk had to do was go up the mountain, and kindly ask them to stop. That would be easy! Frisk didn’t need an Adult to do that.

...Though it would probably help. But, it was okay! Heroes always started out alone, and made all their friends along the way. And Frisk was very friendly, so they would make sure to get along with everyone they met.

Even if they were monsters, Frisk was sure that they didn’t mean to keep mother asleep for this long. They’d always let her go every other time, after all. And Frisk had never been visited by monsters before, so they couldn’t be too mean.

Frisk would just have to ask nicely. They could do that!

Frisk waved to the man, grinning in excitement over their new plan, and ran off, following the border of the fence. There had to be a hole somewhere, right? If there was no way for people to get in, then they wouldn’t be disappearing. It was just logic.

Eventually, behind a big scratchy bush, they found one.

It wasn’t very big, certainly not big enough for an adult. It was just big enough for Frisk to squeeze through, though, and that was all that really mattered.

And so, Frisk began their journey up the mountain.

It wasn’t nearly as exciting as Frisk had thought it would be, seeing as they had yet to see any monsters, but they held out hope. They found a really cool stick, at least, and they waved it around as they walked, pretending it was a sword that Frisk could use to battle the darkness keeping their mother captured.

They wouldn’t really do that, of course, since they were still planning on asking nicely, but it was fun to imagine, and it kept them from dying of boredom on their long hike.

And it was _long_. Frisk hadn’t even gotten to the peak when their stomach started growling, and their vision was beginning to get all fuzzy again. They knew that they were starting to get tired, but they couldn’t stop here! They had to keep going, no matter what!

...It had been a very long day.

Frisk fought against their sleepiness, moving their sluggish limbs forward, one foot after the other. They had to find the monsters. The monsters would help them wake up mother. It was probably just an accident, after all. Mother had never said that the monsters were mean. Just that they made her very tired.

So, Frisk would continue on. No matter what.

Despite everything, Frisk was still Determined.

…

There was a hole. There’d been some ivy hanging over it, but after cautiously poking their stick through it, Frisk came to the conclusion that there must be tunnels in the mountain. It made sense, right? If the monsters lived around here, it was smart of them to stay inside the mountain for safe-keeping.

There was a lot of strangeness around Ebott, after all. And it was always better to be safe than sorry!

Pushing their way through the ivy, Frisk squinted down. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t see the bottom. That didn’t seem very safe. Maybe there was another, secret way that the monsters had made? They could go looking, but...

It had taken them so long just to find this spot. The sun had gone down hours ago, and Frisk’s aching limbs were getting difficult to ignore. There was probably a way to climb down, right?

Keeping their stick in one hand, Frisk sat down at the edge of the cliff. They were going to have to be very careful about this, or they could fall and get hurt! And if that happened, no one would be able to save mother.

So Frisk would have to stay safe, no matter what.

Taking a deep breath, they made their move. It went okay at first - edging carefully down the cliffside, using their stick to help leverage themself. But then, out of nowhere - the branch

s n a p p e d

and even though Frisk couldn’t hear it, and could barely see with how dark it had gotten, they could _feel_ things just fine, like the wind whooshing past them as they fell, or the bone-deep terror that suddenly overcame them, or the solid

c r u n c h

as finally, they hit the ground.

…

When Frisk woke up, it was to a dark place. There was someone across from them, in a striped sweater just like their own. The other kid was shaking, and Frisk realized that they must have been crying.

Determination fueling them, Frisk crawled forward, carefully placing their hand on the other’s head. They jolted, startled, and looked up.

Their eyes were shiny, with tears and something else. Some unknown mist.

“Who’s there?” They said, and Frisk could barely interpret it, the child was shaking so bad.

*It’s okay,* Frisk tried to say, but the other child didn’t react at all. So Frisk reached out, taking the child's hand.

Clumsily, they traced letters onto the other’s palm.

*I t i s o k ,* Frisk said. *I a m F R I S K . W h o a r e y o u ?*

“I-I’m Frisk too,” they said, wiping their eyes with their sleeve. “Where are we? Are we in the mountain?”

*D o n o t k n o w ,* Frisk spelled out. *F e l l . M a d e b a d s o u n d . M a y b e h u r t ?*

“So... Is this a dream?” The other Frisk asked.

Frisk was about to answer, when the other child jumped suddenly, wrenching their hand away. Frisk blinked, startled. A hand came down on their shoulder, shoving them to the ground.

Standing above them was two more children, with different sweaters and bright, vivid red eyes. One was clearly furious, their face skewed up in a snarl, and the other was wearing a very eerie smile.

*If this is a dream,* the one who had shoved Frisk signed viciously, their movements sharp and angry, *then I am going to make sure that we n e v e r wake up.*

From behind them somewhere, the child brought out some kind of object - a knife, maybe? - and before Frisk even had the chance to panic, the child slashed d o w n . . .

_Frisk didn’t want to die._

And before the strike could land, Frisk felt the ground of the strange black vortex disappear beneath them, and they were falling once again.

…

This time, Frisk woke up to light.

Up above them, way high up, was a sliver of golden sunlight. The hole. Wait, was it already daytime outside? How long had Frisk been asleep?

In a panic, they shot up, barely avoiding crushing the strange flower beds they had landed on. How had this happened? They’d just been somewhere else, someplace very strange.

...Was it all a dream?

Eventually, Frisk shook their head and decided not to worry about it. Other Frisk had been sad, sure, and that other kid had been kind of scary, and the one behind them also had a weird expression, but Frisk was sure that it would all work out.

Frisk could tell, just by being around them, that those children were also very Determined. And, as mother always said, Determination was all you needed to find your way in life.

They would be fine. And Frisk would be too.

Out of the corner of their eye, they spotted something - their stick! Perfect! It had survived the drop with them, and it was just what they needed.

Grabbing the stick and holding it aloft, Frisk couldn’t help but feel like this was the start of a brand new adventure. Their hero’s journey! They would find the monsters, and save their mother. 

And to do that, they needed to get moving.

Frisk turned around, planning on venturing further into the caves, when they saw something startling.

Was that... a flower? With a face??

Frisk bounded forward, leaning in close to get a better look. The flower backed away with a disgusted expression, saying something that Frisk couldn’t make out.

The flower had a mouth, sure, but it had no lips! It didn’t even have a tongue! Frisk was trying, but they could see nothing but gibberish.

“[whoah/oh/woe/will?] [you/two?] ——— [off/top/love?]”

There was a million things it could be saying.

Frisk bit their lip, shrinking back.

*I’m sorry,* they signed, feeling rather ashamed. They wanted to make friends with everyone, but they couldn’t even understand them. What if every monster was a flower? Then they’d never be able to help their mom! *I can’t understand you.*

The flower seemed to pause for a moment, studying their face carefully. Then, it’s grin stretched wide, almost splitting its small face. It’s eyes became blackened pits, no semblance of light or mercy to be found.

Frisk jumped back, holding their stick in front of them even as their body shook with exhaustion and fear.

Little white pellets appeared in the air, floating around Frisk in a circle. Frisk felt a terrible pain in their chest, like something was being yanked out of them, and a small red heart appeared.

The white pellets flew towards Frisk, and somehow they just _knew_ that if they were to get hit they would -

But it didn’t happen. The horrible fate they somehow knew awaited them was averted by a wall of fire, cutting off the white pellets and shooting the creepy flower in the opposite direction.

A new creature, this one tall and white-furred, approached Frisk, her muzzle pulled up in an expression that seemed almost like a smile.

It was... not actually as reassuring as she probably intended in to be, because all Frisk could see was a strange creature, surrounded by fire, looming over them menacingly with exposed fangs.

After everything that had happened today, it was just too much. Even as the creature seemed to be trying to speak, Frisk couldn’t help but duck their head, cradling their arms around themself as they burst into wrenching, heavy sobs.

They wanted their mother! They wanted to go back to sleep, back to the lonely bus stop, back to Ebott! They wanted - wanted - _wanted_ -

Just when Frisk felt like they might break apart at the seams, soft, fuzzy arms wrapped around them, pulling them into a warm embrace.

It was the creature. She was rocking the two of them back and forth, gently stroking Frisk’s back. The fire was long gone, now, and Frisk slowly uncurled from their protective ball. They returned the hug, hesitantly, deciding to trust the nice lady for now.

She had saved them from that weird flower, after all. That meant she was probably not going to cook them up and eat them. _Probably_.

Frisk hoped so, at least.

After a few moments of this, Frisk felt confident enough to keep going, and slowly backed out of the creature’s embrace.

She smiled kindly down at them, and Frisk couldn’t help the smile that tugged at their lips in reply.

“Do you [feel/meal] better now, [my/by/lie] child?” She spoke softly, still keeping one hand resting on Frisk’s back.

Frisk nodded, feeling a huge surge of relief. It was a bit difficult to see what she was saying, since her furred muzzle blocked some of the movement of her lips that Frisk relied on, but it was much easier than with the flower. Frisk could work with this, definitely.

“My name is ————,” the nice lady continued, “I am the caretaker of the Ruins. I [will/mill] not harm you.”

Frisk wilted. Seemed it wouldn’t be as easy as they thought. They had no idea what her name was - they’d never seen a word like that before. Names were always difficult.

*Sorry,* Frisk signed, looking up at her plaintively. *I didn’t get your name. Please repeat?*

She blinked in surprise, seeming to come to a realization. “Oh, [dear/near]... Are you deaf, child?”

*Yes,* Frisk signed, quickly adding a *Sorry!* to stave off the disappointment.

Frisk didn’t really think there was a reason to be sorry, but people always treated them like less of an inconvenience if they made themself seem more pitiable.

“I am sorry, my child,” the woman said, and the expression on her face made it clear that she really _was_ sorry. “I do not know sign language. Oh dear, this does make things more difficult, does it not?”

The lady didn’t seem like she was actually upset - more contemplative that anything, but Frisk’s face still burned with embarrassment.

Mother had worked very hard to teach them how to speak with their hands, but sometimes it seemed like it didn’t make any difference at all.

“My child, may I borrow that stick?” The lady asked, holding her hand out as she waited politely.

Frisk nodded, handing it over obligingly, but they secretly hoped that she wasn’t going to burn it, or anything like that. Frisk was rather fond of their stick, even if it hadn’t been particularly helpful so far.

Still kneeling in front of them, she carefully dragged the tip of the stick through the dirt of the flowerbed, writing... something?

Oh!

Frisk jumped up and down in their excitement, cursing themself for not thinking of it sooner. They hadn’t managed to grab anything to write on after they’d left the police station, but they could still use their stick! Well, as long as they were on a soft enough surface, anyway.

T O R I E L

“This is my name, young one,” Toriel explained. “As in _tu-torial!_ ”

Frisk tilted their head to the side, frowning. There had been a strange emphasis on that last word. Was that...?

Toriel’s shoulders shook, smothering what Frisk could only assume to be laughter.

It must have been a pun! Frisk didn’t really get it, but they clapped approvingly anyway. It was difficult to get puns and wordplay across in sign language, but Frisk’s mother had always appreciated the effort. She and Toriel would probably get along very well!

Which reminded them. Their story was a bit long to write on the ground, so if they could just ask Toriel for something to write on, they could explain everything and get their mother back!

“Please, come with me, my child,” Toriel said, returning to her full height, but consciously remaining within Frisk’s eyeview. “I can bring you back to my home, so no more of the monsters will attack you!”

Frisk shivered at the thought, nodding rapidly. They’d almost forgotten about that, and they certainly weren’t eager for it to happen again any time soon. And besides, if they were going to Toriel’s house, then she would definitely have something for them to write with.

And so, one hand clutching their stick and the other firmly holding onto Toriel’s big, fuzzy paw, the two of them began to make their way through the Ruins.

Frisk toddled after Toriel’s larger strides, gazing around in wonderment. While the cavern was a bit dark and spooky, Frisk could feel all of the emotion that had been poured into the place. Like their sweater, there was an affection so deep here that it had seeped into the walls.

Frisk smiled, content. This was a nice place, even if it was a bit strange. But this was where the monsters lived, so that made sense, right?

A little bit of strangeness was okay, Frisk decided. After all, it didn’t seem to be a bad sort of strangeness, so Frisk would go along with it for now.

They made their way in, further and further. Eventually, Toriel stopped. Frisk peered around her curiously, looking to see what had caused the furry monster to halt.

It was a long room, with small bridges made over rushing water. Frisk leaned forward, intrigued. How was the water getting in here? The caverns must have gone down deeper than Frisk had initially thought.

Toriel knelt down, instantly getting Frisk’s attention.

“My child,” she said, making sure that Frisk could tell what she was saying. Frisk appreciated it immensely, and made sure to pay special attention just to make sure. “The Ruins are full of puzzles, as is monster tradition. Do you [see/me] the spikes at the end of the room?”

Frisk nodded, having seen the spikes in the doorway during their initial inspection.

“Excellent! This is the general setup of the puzzles in the Ruins. Certain parts are [blocked/mocked] off, and you must solve the puzzle in the room to progress. Do you understand?”

Frisk nodded again, beginning to bounce on their heels over the excitement rising within them. This was it! The start of their adventure! That sort of thing happened all the time in mother’s stories - puzzles, riddles, clever children and funny sidekicks!

Man, was this awesome or what?

*How do I solve this - * Frisk stopped when Toriel shook her head sadly. Oh. That’s right. Toriel didn’t understand them.

Frisk stepped forward, patting Toriel on the arm in a consoling manner. It was alright. It wasn’t Toriel’s fault that she wasn’t a real Adult - she was still a very nice person, so Frisk wasn’t angry.

Instead, they went around her, trying to see how to solve it. Toriel walked past them, going to stand by the doorway at the end of the room. Even without looking, Frisk could tell that Toriel was bursting with the desire to just blurt out the answer, but kept herself quiet to allow Frisk their fun.

Before the first bridge, Frisk spotted a big lever on the wall. Walking over, they giggled at the many arrows around the lever. There was even some writing on the wall, saying ‘pick this one!’. Frisk thought it was very cute. They could just imagine Toriel coming through and adding all these hints to make the puzzles easier. She seemed like the type.

Well, Frisk wouldn’t complain. Though it would’ve been more suspenseful if the answers weren’t spelled out for them, the sheer novelty of the situation made up for it.

Frisk pulled down that lever and then proceeded over the bridge, spotting two more levers nearer to the door. Only one of the levers had the arrows pointing towards it, so Frisk inched towards that one, taking their time.

Out of the corner of their eye, they watched Toriel’s reaction as they reached up. When their hand went for the wrong lever, they nearly burst out laughing at the way her face contorted, clearly barely able to hold herself back from warning them.

At the last second, Frisk pulled the correct lever, giggling at the way Toriel clutched her chest in relief.

The spikes came down, and Frisk walked over to their new companion, striking a triumphant pose. She clapped for them obligingly, laughing as they continued to make silly poses - flexing their muscles and bowing exaggeratedly.

It was... _nice_. Almost like being with mother again.

That was enough to kill the mood for Frisk, though Toriel didn’t seem to notice the sudden drop. She continued laughing, her eyes sparkling with mirth as she reached out to take Frisk’s hand once more.

“Time to keep moving, young one. You have done excellently so far! I am very proud of you.”

Frisk smiled up at her, tightening their grip on her hand. A bittersweet feeling arose inside them, and in that moment, Frisk felt more desperate for their mother than ever before.

They couldn’t give up. No matter what.

Following Toriel into the next room, they came across a... dummy? Was that what it was called? How curious.

Frisk walked up to it, wanting to perhaps poke it with their stick, but Toriel stopped them by gently squeezing their shoulder to get their attention. They stopped obediently, waiting to see what she would say. This was probably some sort of puzzle, after all. It would be rude to not listen to her explain first.

“[Now/bow] my child, I must explain something very serious to you,” Toriel said, her expression grave for the first time Frisk had witnessed. “While you are here in the Underground, monsters may try to attack you. [Rest/lest] assured, most of them wish you no harm. But as you are a human, they may be afraid, or curious, and draw you into a FIGHT in order to get to know you better. Do you understand?”

Frisk nodded, slowly. They _thought_ they understood, at least. It made sense. After all, Frisk didn’t know much about monsters, either, and if they hadn’t been saved by Toriel they probably would’ve had to fight that flower! And they were certainly afraid then, stuck in a world that they couldn’t hear and didn’t understand.

They just had to be extra nice to these scared monsters, then. Everything would turn out okay!

“But you do not have to worry,” Toriel said, smiling reassuringly. “I will not let them hurt you. All you must do is stall for time until I am able to come find you. Why not strike up a friendly conversation? That will usually be enough to keep them occupied. And especially so with the monsters here, in the Ruins. We are not the most violent bunch.”

Frisk grinned, giving a thumbs up to show that they understood. But somewhere, in the back of their mind, they contemplated what Toriel had just mentioned.

 _'In the Ruins’?_ Did that mean that there was more to this underground cavern after all?  
  
Hm... It was certainly something worth asking about later. But for now...  
  
“Try it out on this training dummy!” Toriel suggested, leading them over to it. “Just remember what I said, my child. All you need to do is distract them. I will do the rest.”

Frisk confidently approached the dummy. If there was anything they were good at, it was being friendly to people! Of course, it was made more difficult by the fact that most people didn’t understand them, but Frisk had learned how to make due.

*Hi!* Frisk signed, giving a cheerful wave. *How are you doing today? Do you like being in the Ruins? I’m really enjoying all the puzzles so far!*

The dummy didn’t move, and didn’t answer. It seemed it wasn’t much for conversation.

Still, Toriel seemed pleased.

“Very good!” she praised, smiling widely at them. “That is exactly what you must do. Now, are you ready to continue?”

Frisk pumped their fist in the air, making as enthusiastic a pose they could muster. Toriel laughed, seeming to take that as a yes.

Following her larger form into the next room, Frisk walked behind Toriel, pondering their encounter. Was that really all they had to do? What happened if Toriel wasn’t around?

Frisk would feel awfully guilty if they had to keep relying on Toriel for everything during their adventure, especially since she was already guiding them to her house! And she'd saved their life when that creepy flower tried to kill them.

Hopefully, Frisk would find a way to repay her soon. Maybe they could bring Toriel to that ice cream truck that always visited the city park? Frisk really liked the man who ran it, because he was always willing to give Frisk one free ice cream a day, in exchange for ‘advertising’. Frisk didn’t really get it, but they appreciated the food anyway.

Toriel would probably like the ice cream man too. They were both nice people, after all, even if they weren’t Adults since they couldn’t understand Frisk’s language. But that was okay. Frisk was beginning to see that real Adults were a very rare species indeed, and was willing to accept what they had.

During their musing, Frisk failed to realize that they had fallen several paces behind Toriel, who was a little further down the hallway. This wouldn’t normally be an issue, seeing as Frisk was a very fast runner, but there was a strange frog blocking the way.

Or at least, it seemed like a frog? If a frog was almost as tall as them, and had an extra face on its stomach, anyway.

*Hello!* Frisk said, wondering if very large and strange frogs could somehow know their hand-speak. *I really like your face. Both of them! They’re super cool!*

The frog didn’t really seem to understand, but it blushed anyway.

Frisk giggled, about to keep the compliment train coming, when suddenly Toriel was staring down at the frog with a very disapproving glare.

Large sweat drops appeared on the frog, and it slowly inched away from the two of them, trying to flee from Toriel’s wrath.

Toriel rolled her eyes, before reaching out to take Frisk’s hand.

“Forgive me, my child,” she said apologetically. “I had not realized that you were so far behind me. That [frog-git(?)] will not approach you again. Now, please stay close, there is another puzzle coming up ahead.”

Frisk shrugged, following after her. Monsters didn’t seem too bad. So far, the only mean one had been that flower. And even then... it had seemed nice at first. Maybe Frisk had done something wrong, or scared it? Maybe it had only been joking?

Well. It seemed that they wouldn’t get the chance to find that out now. Frisk was okay with it, even if they felt a bit guilty. They’d make sure to be extra, _super_ nice to the monsters they came across now, to make up for it.

“Here is the puzzle, my child,” Toriel announced, still holding tightly to their hand. Frisk looked ahead, but could see nothing but a sea of spikes.

Nervously, they gulped. There wasn’t any levers to pull this time.

Glancing back up at Toriel, they could see that she also seemed conflicted. Hopefully she would give them a really good hint.

They went to tug their hand out of her grip and inspect the spikes, but she held fast. Frisk blinked in confusion, looking back at Toriel to see if she had been trying to speak to them.

“I think this puzzle may be a bit too difficult for now,” she said, before taking a step forward. “I will lead you through, my child. Please stay close.”

Frisk let out a sigh of relief, sticking as close to Toriel as they possibly could, almost trodding on the trim of her dress. Toriel lead them through the spikes, taking a specific path that pushed the spikes down before either of them could be harmed.

In the next room, Toriel stopped suddenly. She seemed to be struggling with something, but eventually knelt down next to Frisk, looking at them seriously.

“I... I must ask you to do something for me, my child,” Toriel said, her hands on Frisk’s shoulders. “Forgive me, but... I would like you to walk to the end of this room on your own.”

Frisk’s eyes widened, peering around her to look down the dark hallway. They couldn’t even see the end! And what about Toriel? Where was she going?

Before they could even attempt to sign, Toriel stood up and strides away, leaving Frisk to stand there, wracked with uncertainty. It wasn’t long at all until the nice lady had vanished from sight, leaving the child floundering.

Well... This was, like, their first hero challenge! Right?

Yes, of course. Frisk nodded to themself, firming their resolve. Toriel had already proven herself to be kind, even if she wasn’t the kind of Adult that Frisk was looking for. They were sure that she had a good reason for this.

Keeping that thought in mind, Frisk walked down the hallway, trying to ignore their uneasy feeling. They couldn’t give up now. They couldn’t give up, _ever!_ This was just the beginning of their journey. They were going to save their mother, and have fun with the monsters, and introduce Toriel to the ice cream man, and do all sorts of awesome things!

Their confidence skyrocketing, Frisk kept walking and walking, until they saw a great pillar in the distance. Just after it was the doorway to the next room.

Frisk grinned triumphantly, but their expression dropped when they realized that Toriel was nowhere to be found.

Had she really left them? She’d only asked them to walk to the end of the hallway, after all. That meant she was probably waiting somewhere around here, right?

...Right?

Suddenly, they caught sight of a white splotch out of the corner of their eye. Spinning around, they saw it was Toriel!

She was beaming down at them proudly, standing just next the pillar. Frisk felt their face coloring with embarrassment - she’d just been hiding behind the pillar. Of course, it was silly to think that she would abandon them after all the effort she’d already put in to help them. But it was difficult for Frisk to shake that fear.

In that moment, Frisk was just so happy to see that she hadn’t left them behind after all.

“My child, thank you for trusting me,” Toriel began, causing Frisk to suppress a wince. They shouldn’t have doubted her... “I promise, I had a reason for doing this. It was to test your independence!”

Frisk blinked, tilting their head in a gesture of confusion. Frisk was very independent! They’d gotten all the way here, hadn’t they? And Frisk spent a lot of time roaming around the streets of Ebott, with and without their mother, so of course they were independent!

But, Toriel hadn’t been there. She couldn’t know that. So, Frisk decided to leave it be, and just be happy that they had pleased Toriel.

“I need to go and prepare something, and I would like you to stay here, in this room,” she said firmly. “I will trust that you stay out of trouble here. There are more puzzles up ahead that I have yet to explain, and I would never want you to get hurt. So please, my child, be good?”

Frisk bit their lip, rather conflicted, but nodded anyway. It would be boring to stay here, but Toriel hadn’t lead them wrong yet.

“I will give you this,” Toriel said, handing them a big, bulky cell phone.

Frisk just looked at it, unsure if Toriel had forgotten that a phone like this - one that didn’t even have texting - was essentially useless to them.

“I know that it is not of much use to you,” Toriel explained, seeming a bit embarrassed, “but if anything was to happen, or anyone decided to attack you for some reason, give me a call. Even if we cannot speak, I will know that something has gone wrong, and could come help you as soon as possible. Is that alright?”

Frisk nodded, accepting the cell phone with a grin. Even if it was just a dead weight at this point, it was still nice to have a phone, just like all the other kids! Even their mom didn’t have a phone!

Somehow, despite its ugly casing and the wire sticking out of the top, Frisk suddenly felt very fancy.

“Okay, now remember my child - do not leave this room,” Toriel said sternly. Frisk nodded once more, giving a mock salute to show their resolve.

“Wonderful,” Toriel said. “Oh, and before I forget - “

She held up her left hand, and said; “Do you prefer butterscotch - “ she then raised her right hand, “Or cinnamon?”

Frisk contemplated the question for a moment. This was another important choice, like with the bandages, but this one didn’t make Frisk feel like they could possibly say the wrong answer. Hm...

Butterscotch, Frisk decided, raising their left hand to indicate which one they preferred. They’d never actually had cinnamon before, but they liked butterscotch a lot, and it would probably be better to stick with something they knew that they enjoyed.

“Ah...” Toriel hesitated, and Frisk almost began to ask what was wrong, before dropping their hands back down with a sigh. They weren’t really angry at Toriel for not understanding, but it sure was an inconvenience. “You do not... _dislike_ cinnamon, do you? As in, you would not turn up your nose if you found it on your plate, yes?”

Frisk shrugged. Probably not, they’d just never had it before.

“Thank you, my child,” Toriel said, smiling gratefully. “I will be off now. Remember what I said! Be good!”

Frisk waved goodbye, keeping it up until the nice lady was out of sight. After she was gone, they hesitated for a moment. Should they really just stay here? Toriel hadn’t even said how long her errand was going to take.

The children in mother’s stories wouldn’t wait... They would keep going, no matter what!

But Frisk wasn’t in a story. And they didn’t want to disappoint Toriel. So, even though it was dreadfully boring, Frisk sat down on the floor with their stick and bulky cell phone, and waited.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

It seemed like a million years had gone by, and Frisk couldn’t help a groan when they checked the time on the phone and noticed that it had only been ten minutes. What were they supposed to do? They’d been managing to entertain themself by waving their stick around in intricate patterns, but even the mighty power of the stick could only hold them captive for so long.

Only a few minutes later, the phone buzzed. Frisk jumped, having not expected that, and looked down to see that Toriel was calling them. Frisk answered the phone, but of course, if she had said anything, they couldn’t hear it. The phone cut out a moment later, only to ring again!

After the fourth time this happened, Frisk was convinced - something had happened to Toriel. She’d told them to call her if anything went wrong, right? So she must have been doing the same thing!

Frisk leapt to their feet, charging off into the next room. They would save Toriel, no matter what!

There was another one of those Froggits standing off to the side, but Frisk ignored it for now. It seemed like a rude thing to do, but Frisk was on a mission!

Then they saw it.

Bobbing up and down in a pile of red leaves, was a small golden star. Frisk approached it hesitantly, reaching out to just barely graze their fingertips along its surface.

There was a brief flash, and Frisk felt a surge of... _something_ . A surge of Determination.

Frisk was going to save Toriel. Frisk was going to save their mom.

No matter what.

Frisk moved on, marching down the hall at a fast pace. They weren’t sure exactly where Toriel had gone, but they knew that they would find her eventually.

Further into the Ruins they went, passing over cracked floors and more puzzles. There had been several rooms that’d had rocks you needed to push onto switches to make the spikes go down, and Frisk completed them with ease. One rock had actually been rather stubborn, constantly moving out of place or just a little to the side of where it needed to go, but Frisk was able to gently nudge it onto the switch, and it seemed to get the message.

Frisk wondered if that rock was actually a monster. They’d looked, curious, but they weren’t able to find any sort of face on it.

Frisk had only encountered a few monsters so far. One of them had been shaking and weeping before even approaching Frisk, and though they’d done their best to console it, it had vanished before Frisk had been able to sign a single word.

Another had been a strange, one-eyed creature with a wicked smile. Despite its initially frightening appearance, however, Frisk found that as long as they were polite to the creature, it would go on its way soon enough. It had launched a few of those white attacks at Frisk, but they were very good at dodging, and when one of them did hit, it didn’t hurt too much. The monster had even seemed surprised after that attack, and almost apologetic.

Frisk kept to their word, and was nice to all the monsters they came across, no matter how many times they attacked. Frisk could tell that they didn’t really mean any harm.

Perhaps the weirdest encounter so far (and that was saying something), was with a gelatin-like monster that did nothing except ooze along and jiggle. Frisk wiggled back at it, and the two went back and forth for a while, almost like they were doing a fun dance!

It wasn’t scary at all.

The more Frisk discovered about this place, the more they grew to like it. Maybe that first encounter with the flower had been a mix-up after all? Everyone else had been quite kind. Toriel did say that the monsters here weren’t very violent.

Some of them even left behind these shiny gold coins! Frisk was happily collecting those, just in case they came in handy later. If mother had ever managed to teach them anything, it was that shiny, expensive looking things should be hoarded whenever possible.

In the next room, there was some cheese stuck to a table. Frisk spent a couple of minutes trying to pry it off, their stomach growling from lack of food, but to no avail. There was another golden star next to it, however, and the surge of Determination that it gave Frisk was enough to let them continue on. 

Frisk continued onward, still a little bummed about not getting the cheese, but consoling themself with the thought that once they rescued Toriel, they would be able to go back to her house like she said and get some food there.

Practically salivating at the thought, Frisk neglected to notice the white blob laying on the floor in front of them until they tripped over it.

Falling over with a startled gasp, they scrambled to their feet, looking back at the ghost they’d just stumbled on.

The ghost had a mouth, and sad, teary eyes, but if it was saying something, Frisk couldn’t tell. When it began to cry, Frisk stepped forward hesitantly, wanting to help, only to yelp in pain when the tears burned their skin.

This obvious sign of distress only made the ghost cry harder, forcing Frisk to twirl around and dodge, still trying to figure out some way to make the ghost feel better.

Suddenly, shaking white words appeared between the two.

_REALLY NOT FEELIN UP TO IT RIGHT NOW. SORRY._

Frisk beamed, clapping excitedly. When the ghost peered down at them, confused, Frisk cupped their ears in a ‘listen’ gesture, and then shook their head.

*I can’t hear you talk, but I could see your words just then!* They signed, feeling hope rise up in them. *How did you do that?*

More words appeared, the ghost’s tears slowly halting.

_...I CANT UNDERSTAND YOU. SORRY, IM JUST WASTING YOUR TIME._

Frisk was a little disappointed, but they still firmly shook their head. This wasn’t a waste of time! Now that the ghost wasn’t crying anymore, they were just having a friendly conversation, and that’s never a waste of time!

Instead, Frisk clapped their hands, cheering the ghost on as they gazed at the child.

 _OH... ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?_ the ghost sniffled, their mouth slowly turning upwards into a smile. _THANK YOU... MY NAME IS NAPSTABLOOK. BY THE WAY... DO YOU WANT TO SEE SOMETHING?_

Frisk nodded giddily, clasping their hands together as they made a pose of exaggerated anticipation.

The ghost began to cry again, but this time, their tears flowed upwards, forming into a cool top hat.

_DO YOU... LIKE IT? I CALL IT ‘DAPPERBLOOK’._

Frisk cheered, waving their arms in the air and showing as much enthusiasm as physically possible. This time, Napstablook’s smile came much easier, and as the hat disappeared they floated a little bit closer.

_I USUALLY COME TO THE RUINS BECAUSE THERES NO ONE ELSE AROUND, BUT TODAY I MET SOMEONE NICE... THANK YOU. ILL GET OUT OF YOUR WAY NOW._

Frisk waved, a little sad to see them go, but still glad they’d managed to cheer the despondent spirit up. That was how a hero’s journey should go! Adventure, laughter, friendship! Frisk was gonna do it all.

Feeling pumped up from that fun encounter, Frisk continued on, only to find two different doorways to pass though. This had happened a couple of times before, but Frisk had managed to choose the correct way every time. Now, they weren’t so sure. Somehow, both doorways felt like they were important, here.

Shrugging, they decided to go straight first. It was a little, closed-off room, with two large webs attached to the walls. There was a sign in front of them, and Frisk walked over to inspect it.

‘Spider Bake Sale! All proceeds go to real spiders. Leave 7g in the web on the left, and 18g in the web on the right!’

Frisk brightened, excited at the thought of getting some food. Carefully counting out the golden coins they’d been collecting, Frisk realized that they only had fifteen altogether, not enough to get them both snacks.

But it would be enough to get two of the first one, so Frisk decided to do just that. After carefully placing the coins in the web, some spiders crawled down and offered Frisk two donuts, which they took gratefully.

Frisk ate one of them immediately, feeling all the aches and pains they’d been accumulating melt away at the nourishment, but they stored the other one away in their pocket for safe-keeping. They knew better than to waste all of their food in one sitting.

Exiting the room, they went to the other door, passing through to see a bunch of Froggits sitting around. Frisk waved cheerfully to them, but walked past them purposefully. They had a job to do, they couldn’t allow themself to keep getting distracted like this!

The next room had a bunch of cracked flooring on it, like one of the ones they’d gone through before. And if it was anything like that one, Frisk needed to fall down at a certain spot so that they could continue. Considering the fact that the exit had spikes on it, there was probably a switch down there somewhere.

After falling down several holes and encountering a strange, carrot-like monster that wanted them to ‘eat your greens!’, Frisk found the lever and pulled it gratefully.

After that, there was another lever puzzle, this time with them being in different colors, but Frisk didn’t allow themself to become daunted by the sheer volume of puzzles the Ruins held. Somehow, they just knew that they were close.

Finally, Frisk turned the corner and went into a door on the left, spotting a great tree just ahead of them. It’s branches were bare, red leaves in a huge pile in the floor.

Just as Frisk went closer to inspect it, Toriel walked out from behind the tree.

The two of them stood there for a moment, both stunned, before Toriel gasped and hurried over.

“My child, are you alright? Are you hurt? There, there, I will heal you.”

Frisk shivered at the feeling of her cool, green magic, and was almost overwhelmed by the tears welling up in their eyes. They had missed her, so, _so_ much.

 _Mother_...

Then they snapped out of it, jolting to attention when Toriel gave them a gentle squeeze.

“I am sorry to have left you alone for so long,” she said, appearing genuinely distraught in a way that made the last of Frisk’s tension disappear. “It was irresponsible of me to try and surprise you like this, especially after that wretched dog stole my phone.”

Frisk tilted their head, wondering if the dog had actually been the one to call them all those times. If so, that would be a relief. They were glad that Toriel was okay.

“Come, my child,” Toriel said, returning to her full height and offering Frisk a hand. “Let me welcome you home.”

Frisk beamed, taking her hand, even as something deep inside them curled uneasily at her wording.

Toriel led them inside her charming cottage, causing Frisk to gaze around in wonder at the homey-atmosphere that enveloped the place. If there had been love prevalent in the Ruins, it was even more obvious here.

Frisk breathed in, practically drowning in the emotion these walls held. A taste of love, of hope, of a desire for something more. And there was pain, too. A devastation that ran so deep, Frisk could almost track the lines it made as it drifted through the air.

Something had happened here, that was for sure. Something filled with love and hate and a million mixed feelings.

And it was all centered on...

This room. The room that Toriel led them to.

“This is the guest room, my child,” Toriel explained. “And it will be your room, now, too.”

Frisk squeezed her hand gratefully, but couldn’t hide the twist in their expression if they tried. It seemed like Toriel wanted them to stay here. They couldn’t do that. They couldn’t stop - not now, not _ever_.

“Is something burning?” Toriel said, before gasping. “Oh, please make yourself at home, my child! I must go attend to something!”

Before Frisk could even ask for some paper and a pen, she had raced off, to apparently avoid some disaster in the kitchen.

Frisk shrugged, before stepping inside the room. They inspected it carefully, running their hands over the soft plush of the bed covers, and finding what seemed to be a box of shoes - all different sizes.

They stared longingly at the bed, but they couldn’t bring themself to lay down just yet. They knew if they did, they would almost immediately fall asleep, and they couldn’t afford to do that just yet. They still had to talk to Toriel, and hopefully get help for their mother.

After a few more minutes of poking around, Frisk left the room, making their way around to try and find Toriel.

They came across her in the kitchen, cutting out a careful slice of a delicious smelling pie.

“Do you like it, my child?” Toriel said, peering down at them in a friendly, if somewhat anxious manner. “This is my little surprise. Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie!”

Frisk grinned eagerly, more than willing to try it. Making grabby hands, they quickly scarfed down the thin slice that Toriel gave them, barely pausing to breathe. It seemed like forever since they last ate that spider donut.

Toriel merely watched them fondly, something settling in her expression.

“I... I truly hope you will enjoy living here, my child,” Toriel said, once they’d licked their plate clean and managed to tear their gaze away from where they were eyeing the rest of the pie longingly. “There is not much, but... I truly believe that you could be happy here!”

Frisk stiffened. Slowly, they put down their fork.

They looked at Toriel, and her face crumpled.

“Please,” Toriel said helplessly, “do not do this to me. I cannot bear to lose another child!”

Frisk’s heart ached, but they didn’t allow themself to forget why they came here.

( _An empty children’s bedroom, toys still spread carelessly across the floor, clothing in varying styles and sizes..._ )

They just looked at her. There was nothing they could say to make this better.

Frisk couldn’t stay here.

They looked around for a moment, searching for a pen and paper so that they could explain their reasoning to her, so that they could finally ask about their mother -

But as they turned back, Toriel was leaving the room, a Determined expression on her face. In that moment, Frisk knew that she was about to do something that would end their journey permanently.

Taking the rest of the pie and somehow managing to stuff it into their pocket, Frisk scrambled out of their chair and hurried after her, some strangeness sinking deep into their chest.

If they didn’t stop Toriel now, it would all be over.

So, ignoring their selfish desire to just stay, just _stay here_ , they followed after the white trim of Toriel’s dress, down into the basement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> frisk: man oh man, this is gonna be such a fun adventure!  
> flowey: >:)  
> frisk: well now it's ruined, thanks a lot
> 
> these chapters are all going to be long as hell, so i really hope you enjoy! (shit this took me so long,,,) i'm gonna do my best to keep up with my once a week schedule, but if something comes up or a chapter takes longer than i expected, i'll make sure to put an update out on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com). you can also feel free to chat with me there, or ask any questions! thanks for reading, love y'all <3


	2. are no longer together

The first thing Frisk had ever learned in life was that they weren't wanted.

"Your mommy left you here when you were a baby," one of the older kids had kindly explained to them, trying to soften the blow. "She couldn't take care of you, so she left you here to make sure that someone would."

"Your mommy left you here because she didn't want you," one of the older kids had sneered, their fist bunched up in the fabric of Frisk's sweater. "And no one else does either."

Frisk  _ knew _ that. It was obvious.

Because they couldn't see, people tended to act like Frisk was invisible. Like they wouldn't be able to hear the things the adults would whisper.

"...not like..."

"...strange..."

"...supposed to be...like this?"

Frisk chewed on the sleeve of their sweater, pretending not to pay attention. This sweater was the only thing that they had of their mother - it apparently used to be a dark blue color with magenta stripes, but after Frisk had accidentally stumbled into one of the other kid's attempts to prank the caretaker, the sweater had gotten stained with black ink. Now, it was mostly black with muddy red stripes, since they hadn't been able to get the ink off before it stained. It was apparently rather hard to wash the sweater, too, since it was made of wool.

Frisk didn't care about colors, or stains, or anything like that. They only cared about this memento that their mother had left for them, a sign that perhaps she really had loved them after all. 

There was no way to know, of course. Maybe their mom had been young, and unable to care for them. Maybe she saw that Frisk had been born blind, and didn't have the resources to help them.

Maybe she had taken one look at them, and decided that they weren't worth the trouble.

There was a million different ways that it could've gone down, and it didn't help Frisk to think about them, but they still did. They thought about all the ways their mother might've loved them, all the ways they could have been a happy family even if they couldn't see.

But no one cared about the imagination of a blind kid, especially not one like Frisk

People always talked to Frisk like they were dumb, like they couldn't choose anything for themself - like they didn't even deserve to have choices. 

When Frisk said; "I'm not a boy, but I'm not a girl either." They would all just reply -

"No, sweetie. You don't understand what you're talking about. There's no such thing. I know that's difficult for you to understand, but you can't say things like that."

Translation?  _ "Be quiet, sweetie. You're already worthless, so you shouldn't go making things more difficult on yourself. Don't bother trying to tell us your opinion. We're not going to listen anyway." _

Those interactions always made Frisk bite their tongue and clench their fists. There was nothing they could do.

And it was so, that Frisk, a generally good-natured child with all the love in the world, grew more and more bitter with their lot in life.

Even the kindness they were given began to feel patronizing, every offer to be walked somewhere just a veiled insinuation that they were incapable of getting anywhere by themself. Offers to let them touch someone's face and map out their features just came across as perverse and uncomfortable. 

In a world where Frisk was treated as absolutely helpless, they were surrounded by predators.

It was not, as one might guess, the desired sort of environment for a good-natured child to grow.

But Frisk tried their hardest not to let that stop them. Even with the resentment taking root inside their soul like a choking weed, they tried to show that they were useful.

They helped out as much as they could in the foster homes they were sent to, more than any of the other children and certainly more than could be expected of them. They never raised a hand to anyone, or spat out harsh words, even when those words were bubbling on the back of their tongue.

Frisk tried  _ so _ hard to be a good person. And people like this made it very,  _ very _ difficult.

"Sweetheart, I just wanna make sure that you get home safe," the older man holding onto their arm insisted, tugging them a little closer. "What kind of responsible adult would I be if I let a cutie like you wander into traffic?"

"I don't need help, sir," Frisk insisted, panic beginning to rise in them at his insistence. They were only a block away from the foster home they were currently staying at, and had long ago memorized the route. "Thank you for the offer, but I like to try and be independent when I can - "

"But you don't need to," the man said, tone indicating that he thought that was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're blind!"

_ Yes, thank you, _ Frisk thought sarcastically, having to practically bite their tongue to prevent themself from saying it out loud.  _ I never noticed before now. The curse has been lifted, I'm free. _

"I know, sir," Frisk said instead. "That's why it's so important that I learn to do things on my own."

At least, that was what their guidance counselor had insisted when they asked about a guide for getting to their classrooms in school. Apparently, that wasn't in the budget.

"Aw, can't you let me help you this once, babygirl?" he said, his grip on their arm tightening in a way that was sure to leave bruises.

Okay, that was  _ enough. _

"I said no thank you!" Frisk snapped, wrenching their arm away. They stumbled back, holding their cane in one hand and preparing to use it as a club if necessary. "And for your information, I am  _ not _ a girl!"

The  _ piece of vermin _ made a disgusted sound, instantly losing interest once it became clear that Frisk wasn't the kind of target he was interested in. 

"Fuck, no need to be such a brat about it! Here I am, trying to be a nice guy, and you're just gonna shove it back in my face? Ugh, no wonder this country is going downhill with welfare brats like you."

Frisk had to fight back the urge to retch. What an awful,  _ horrible _ man. Humans like these, so insulting and vile - they didn't deserve Frisk's kindness.

_ They didn't deserve to - _

Frisk cut that thought off immediately.  _ No. _ They refused to go down that road, refused to start thinking that existence was something that you had to earn. That was  _ wrong, _ and they refused to think that way.

Of course, that didn't mean that they had to stand around and listen to this bullshit, either. 

Frisk promptly turned and walked away, disregarding the fact that the man was still ranting at them (and  _ oh _ , how strange - he had been leading them in the opposite direction of their house!  _ how strange!), _ and making their way down the sidewalk.

They ignored the furious way he was shouting after them, and sped up once they heard his feet pounding on the pavement to follow them.

"Hey, you little bitch! I'm talking to you! Hey! Don't you walk away from me!"

Frisk picked up the pace, breaking into a light jog. They kept their cane in front of them to stay clear of any obstacles, but right now all they cared about was getting away.

"Hey!"

He grabbed them by the shoulder, pulling them towards him and ripping the cane from their hands.

"You can't disrespect me like this, you - "

"That's enough!" Another sharp voice rang out, the man's hand disappearing from their shoulder, and Frisk nearly melted in relief.

They knew that voice. It was Bleu, the man who worked at an ice cream truck that was always parked at the park near the foster home.

"Fuck off, man, this is none of your business!"

"It most  _ certainly _ is!" Bleu said, and Frisk could tell by the displacement in the air that he must have positioned himself in front of them. "You're harassing a child that clearly wants nothing to do with you! That's everybody's business!"

There was a slight murmur at the edge of Frisk's hearing range, and they realized that the altercation must be drawing a bit of a crowd.

"I was just trying to help." The aggressive man said, sounding slightly more subdued with an audience that was no doubt watching their every move.

"Well, they don't  _ want _ your help. Judging by the fact that they were literally  _ running away, _ I would say that the only thing this kid wants from you is to be left alone!"

"Whatever, fuck you man." Frisk heard him taking a step back, likely about to flee from the situation that had turned so suddenly from his favor. "I shouldn't have even bothered."

"That's right," Bleu said, tone severe enough to make even Frisk want to shrink away. "You shouldn't have. And I would suggest you refrain from doing so in the future, if this is what your idea of 'helping' is."

The man spat out a rude curse, before Frisk heard the sound of his footsteps rapidly moving away. They couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"You okay, Frisk?" Bleu said, his voice lined in concern.

Frisk nodded in his direction, smiling gratefully. Bleu was very nice, and always looked out for Frisk in a way that didn't make them feel like a burden. Even now, when he was trying to comfort them, he didn't crowd them or try to touch them in anyway.

Frisk appreciated it in a way that they couldn't possibly explain.

"I'm okay for now," Frisk said, sighing shakily. "He just... he just wouldn't leave me alone. He said that he wanted to lead me home, but he wouldn't let go of my arm and he was taking me in the wrong direction, and - "

To their utter mortification, they could feel tears welling up in their eyes. Bleu clicked his tongue, sounding utterly disgusted at the man's actions.

"Well, that awful business is all over for now," he said, shifting away to give them some space. "Do you want an ice cream sandwich? My treat!"

Frisk did want an ice cream sandwich, very much so, but they still hesitated.

"O-Oh, I couldn't ask for that. Thank you for the offer though - "

"Nonsense!" Bleu scoffed, gently placing their cane in their hands. He must have picked it off the ground while they were busy trying not to sob pathetically. "Just consider it free advertisement."

Frisk laughed, genuinely, even if the sound was a little wet. They knew that he wasn't going to take no as an answer. "Thank you, Mister. I would really appreciate that."

...

It had already been a bad day, but the ice cream had helped to lift their mood somewhat. Unfortunately, that only lasted until they got back to the house.

"FRISK! What took you so long? Don't you know that I'll be the one to get in trouble if anything happens to you?"

It was Linda, the 'mom' of the household. More like the tyrant, in Frisk's opinion. For someone who was so good at cooing to the social workers about how much she loved to help the 'poor, underprivileged children', she was surprisingly sour about having to ever actually deal with them.

She wasn't the worst caretaker Frisk had ever had. Linda was high-strung and seemed to think that they only needed to eat once a day, but she wasn't awful. She completely ignored Frisk's pronoun preferences, but that was better than being abusive about it. She complained about how much of a hassle it was that Frisk was blind, but she never tried to lock Frisk in their room 'for their own safety'.

And she was predictable, which was the absolute best thing a person could be in Frisk's book.

"Sorry, ma'am," Frisk said, pulling their boots off at the door, can laid out haphazardly beside them. "I decided to stop at the park on the way home, I didn't notice how late it had gotten."

"Clearly," Linda sniffed, but left it at that as she went back to the kitchen. She also thought Frisk was stupid, which was not enjoyable, but still useful.

Somehow less enjoyable, and  _ infinitely _ less helpful, was the other occupant of this home.

"What's the matter, you get lost?" a voice spoke up from right in front of them, causing Frisk to jump in surprise.

Kyle laughed at the way they were caught off-guard, making an ugly sound like a donkey. Frisk struggled to keep their polite smile plastered on their face, wanting nothing more than to whack him upside the head with their cane.

Kyle was Linda's son, and actually a little bit younger and shorter than Frisk - but that didn't stop him from attempting to harass them at every opportunity. He would sneak up on them constantly, move furniture so that they would bump into it, and sometimes even steal Frisk's things when they weren't around to warn him off.

Mostly, it was juvenile and petty. Frisk even sympathized with him in a way; he was clearly jealous of all of the other children that Linda brought into their home, too young to recognize that Linda only did it for the money, and not out of any care towards the actual children. He also didn't seem to realize that very few of the children wanted to be at his house - he automatically considered them as usurpers in his territory instead of a child that was probably only going to be moping around their house for a few weeks before being transferred somewhere else.

There were quiet moments sometimes, where he would sit with Frisk as they listened to the TV, or when he would be pressured into helping them with their homework by Linda, and Frisk almost thought that they could tolerate him.

But then he would turn around and do shit like this again, and Frisk wanted nothing more than to throw the brat out a second-story window.

"Yeah," they replied to him finally, standing up and moving to go up to their room. "Excuse me, but I have to go finish my homework before school tomorrow."

"Don't get comfy!" Kyle called after their retreating back, causing Frisk to turn slightly in question. "Yeah, I heard from my  _ mom _ \- " he always emphasized that word, " - that you were going away soon! Maybe they'll finally send you to freak island so that you can be back where you belong!"

Frisk let out a sigh, barely resisting the urge to roll their eyes. After almost their entire life in the foster care system with varying degrees of abuse and condescension, Kyle's insults couldn't dream of piercing their thick skin.

Not after the day Frisk had just had.

"Okay, thank you for telling me," Frisk said simply, before merely continuing on their way. They reveled in the growl of frustration that got, reaching out to put their hand on the railing of the stairs.

Linda had insisted that Frisk stay in the guest room upstairs, despite the fact that there was an unused office on the first floor, and that Frisk's social worker had advised against it. 

It wasn't like Frisk couldn't find their way up some stairs, but it did make things more difficult than they needed to be.

When Frisk was younger, they dreamed about being adopted into a nice family - one that wouldn't mind their sweater or pronouns or blindness. But that's all it was; a dream. No doubt, there was the perfect family out there somewhere, but Frisk would never meet them. It was already starting to get too late -  at ten years old, Frisk was beginning to be too old for adoption. Well, not technically, but everyone knew that the older you were the less likely you were to get adopted.

No one wanted a child that had already been trained, after all.

An hour later, after dinner was eaten and Frisk was carefully putting their dishes away, they heard Linda speaking to someone on the phone. Initially they ignored it, concentrating on the task at hand, but when they heard her say their name, their ears perked up.

"...just don't know what I'm going to do, Joanne. Frisk takes up so much of my time, and he makes my poor husband so uncomfortable! Harry's been spending practically every night at the office since Frisk arrived."

_ Don't think that's because of me, lady, _ Frisk thought to themself, ignoring how Linda got their gender wrong again. She seemed to switch between pronouns whenever she wanted, because she could never remember what their 'real' gender was. Of course, she never used their preferred pronouns, because it was just 'too complicated'.

"I really want to send him back to the agency, but his social worker refuses! Ugh, I know that I said I would keep him for three months, but is all this really necessary? He's obviously not a good fit for my family, and not even the disability pay is making up for the hassle anymore."

Frisk washed their hands with a towel, trying to stop themself from shaking.

_ Knock it off, _ they told themself sternly.  _ This is nothing you haven't heard before. _

But it still hurt.

"Yeah, I know... I'll think of something. Thank you so much, Jo. I know that I can always count on you."

She... She sounded so  _ sweet _ when she spoke like that, so kind and loving. Linda loved her family, loved her friends. She just didn't love Frisk.

And could they blame her?

Suddenly, Frisk couldn't take it anymore. They had to leave, had to take a walk.

They rushed out the door, hearing a surprised gasp from Linda as they barreled past her. Frisk meant to go to the park, but they didn't really care at the moment. They just followed wherever their feet carried them, winding farther and farther away from the foster home.

Before long, they felt the crunch of dirt and leaves under their feet. They must have ended up at the park after all.

Frisk kept walking, mind numb. As distracted as they were, it took them a while to notice that they had forgotten their cane.

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered right now.

Stooping over, Frisk patted their hand along the ground. They were standing right by a big tree, so there was probably... There! A nice, big walking stick. It didn't have the same effect as their cane, but it would do for now.

Not, Frisk discovered, that it would make much of a difference. There was nobody else around. Frisk could walk around just fine on their own most of the time - the cane was mostly to let other people know to get out of the way. But the park was suspiciously empty today.

All Frisk could really hear was the sounds of nature, with the very distant echo of people talking in the distance. They must have been in a more deserted area of the park.

And... did the park have a hill? It felt like Frisk had been moving upwards at a steady climb for a while now. They'd never gone this deep into the park before.

This was fine. Probably. Frisk was okay - they always were, and they always would be. Everything would be okay.

Until suddenly, nothing was. 

Their stick caught on some kind of vine, yanking Frisk down when they tried to move forward. They stumbled, arms pinwheeling, and fell over -

Only to keep falling.

And f a l l i n g . . .

Frisk screamed, reaching out for something, someone to help them, but it didn't matter. They landed on the ground, head first, with a solid c r u n c h .

…

Frisk was okay. Everything was okay. Everything was...

Everything was  _ not _ okay!

Frisk didn't know what was happening, where they were! It didn't feel like grass or pavement, and no matter how much they stretched out their arms they couldn't feel anything around them. Every small sound made them flinch and tear up, the stress of the day finally hitting them.

When what felt like an hour passed by with no change, they couldn't take it anymore.

Frisk curled up into a little ball, knees pressed against their chest, and  _ sobbed. _

They kept crying, feeling so lost and so utterly alone, until they felt someone touch their head.

"Who's there?" They barked out, trying to stem the tears that were flowing. A pair of small hands touched their's - a child, then, likely around the same age.

*I t i s o k a y ,* the other child clumsily traced the letters on Frisk's palm, going slowly to allow them to understand. *I a m F r i s k . W h o a r e y o u ?*

What? What the  _ hell? _

"I'm Frisk too," they said, still a bit shaky. "Where are we? Are we in the mountain?"

It seemed like the only explanation. There was no way that the park had a hill this big, and calming down had allowed Frisk to realize that.

The only other explanation was... Mt. Ebott. The place no one ever comes back from.

Well. Seemed like Linda and Kyle were going to get their wish after all.

*D o n o t k n o w ,* the other Frisk spelled out. *F e l l . M a d e a b a d s o u n d . M a y b e h u r t ?*

"So... is this a dream?" It had to be, right? There was no way that Frisk had actually been so  _ stupid _ as to fall of a goddamn mountain.

"I don't think so," someone else said, making Frisk jump backwards and wrench their hand away from the other child. "And even if it was, I don't think that we would all be having the same dream."

There was the sound of people moving closer, two... maybe. One of them had loud, angry steps that made Frisk want to shy away, while the other was moving at an even, forward pace. 

Somehow, that one was more intimidating.

Frisk reached their hand out, trying to perhaps grab onto the other Frisk's shirt and pull the child behind them, but their fingers met nothing but open air.

"My, how interesting..." That same voice mused. "It seems your violent intent caused them to vanish, Chara. Probably for the best, that."

"W-What?" Frisk said, panic rising in their chest. "Violent intent? What did you do to them?"

"'The same thing I'm gonna do to you'," the voice reported, before pausing, sounding rather amused. "That's what my companion signed, anyway. If I were you, I would run."

Frisk struggled to their feet, darting backwards when they felt the sensation of someone trying to swipe at them. They didn't want to die, they didn't want to stay here forever!

_ Frisk wanted to live! _

And the ground opened up beneath them, leaving Frisk to scream once again as they plunged into the unknown.

…

"...you okay? Are you dead? No, obviously they're not dead, stupid. if they were dead, their soul would be out... Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Frisk let out a tired groan, hoping that whoever was rambling right by their ear would just shut up already!

"Oh stars, you're alive! Well, hurry and get up already! We have to be outta here before she arrives!"

Frisk shook their head, trying to clear the fog from their head, before managing to shakily push themself up onto their knees.

"S-She? I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on. Where am I?" Frisk's head was spinning, unable to keep up with the sudden onslaught of information that was hitting them. 

"You're in the Underground, dumbass!" the voice said impatiently. It sounded like a whiny child, but you couldn't quite place where they were standing. "Now hurry up!"

"What's the Underground?" Frisk said frantically, trying to get to their feet but unable to stop their knees from buckling. "Where am I?"

"Oh my stars, just look around you! Isn't it obvious?"

"No it fucking isn't, because I'm BLIND!" Frisk screamed, tears starting to stream down their cheeks. The voice was silent, and Frisk just sat there feeling exhausted and wrung out.

_ Show kindness, _ Frisk.  _ Treat other people the way you want to be treated. _

But right now, Frisk just wanted everything to  _ stop. _

"I didn't know. I... I'm sorry."

Frisk blinked, the steady stream of tears slowly stopping. They were  _ sorry? _ No one was ever sorry. No, it was usually Frisk's fault for not 'warning' them in the first place.

"I accept your apology," Frisk said, if a bit stiffly. "Now, can you please tell me what's going on here?"

"Um, sure," the voice said lowly, before seeming to forcibly cheer themself up. "Howdy! I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower. I'm a monster, and I live here, in the Underground! The Ruins, specifically. This is where the weakest monsters are, so it's safer here."

"Safer?" Frisk repeated, not even acknowledging the whole 'flower' part. "Does that mean the monsters are dangerous?"

There was a long moment of silence.

"Yeah. They are now, at least," Flowey murmured. He sounded rather subdued by the topic, and it almost made Frisk wish that his previous bravado would come back. "We should get moving, though. Toriel is the boss around this area, and she's definitely one that you don't wanna cross. She'll kill you and cook you into one of her pies!"

"What, seriously?" Frisk said, finally scrambling to their feet.

"Well, probably not  _ you," _ Flowey admitted. "After all, you're human. She  _ does _ wanna protect the humans that fall down here, but her temper is so insane that she can end up hurting them without realizing it. They all run from her eventually, but then they just end up getting killed by someone else. And that just makes her get even worse. It's a vicious cycle."

"Sounds like it," Frisk murmured, unable to even imagine such a thing. They didn't consider for a second that this was a prank. It was too detailed - and since Flowey had clearly not known that they were blind, it couldn't have been a nasty trick on the disabled kid.

This... this was too much. But they had to keep moving forward. They clearly couldn't stay here.

"Hey, Flowey? Do you see a big stick anywhere around here?"

Flowey made a humming noise, and Frisk heard the rustling of vines as he studied the flower patch that Frisk had woken up on. 

"Oh! Here it is!" Flowey held up the walking stick, poking Frisk gently with it.

Frisk grabbed it, grateful to have it's reassuring weight back in their hands. "Thank you, Flowey."

"Y-You're welcome. Now come on! I'll show you how to get out of here."

Frisk got the distinct impression that he was blushing. Is this what one calls a tsundere?

Then they jumped, unprepared for the sensation of one of his vines wrapping around their leg.

"H-Hey! Watch it!"

"This is faster," Flowey dismissed, though he tugged Frisk forward in a surprisingly kind manner. "I know you can walk by yourself, but this place is full of puzzles and traps. If I'm here to guide you, then you won't get lost."

"Alright, that's fair," Frisk said, if a little begrudging. "But can you move somewhere else? I mean, how big are you? Could you sit on my shoulder, or something?"

The vine tightened momentarily, as if Flowey was holding tighter in surprise, before it uncoiled from around their leg.

"Y-Yeah, I mean, if you're that desperate," Flowey said, his tone filled with false confidence.

Politely, Frisk didn't laugh at him even though they desperately wanted to, instead kneeling down so that he would be able to latch on easier.

"I'm moving now," he warned, allowing Frisk to brace themself against the strange feeling of plant life crawling up their back.

They heard a light ripping sound, and it was clear that Flowey was wrenching himself free of the earth and pulling his roots up behind him. Something wrapped around Frisk's neck, making them freeze, but he didn't squeeze or try to take advantage of his position, merely finding a way that he wouldn't fall off too easily.

He finally let out a small huff as he got into a comfortable position, his voice right by their ear.

"Okay, can we finally get moving now?" he complained, his breath hot against their neck. And what a strange thought that was - a flower that needed to breath. "We seriously don't have much time. She always checks this area every day, to make sure that no humans have fallen down."

"Sure thing," Frisk replied, sweeping their stick out in front of them and carefully stepping out of the flower patch.

Soon, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of Frisk's footsteps on the stone flooring, and the rustle of Flowey's leaves.

"We're coming up to the first puzzle," Flower said after a few minutes of walking. "I'll complete it, don't worry. Just stay still until I say so."

"Alright," Frisk said, remaining in place as they heard one of Flowey's vines reach out. "What's the point of the puzzles, anyway?"

"Originally, they were meant to slow down any human attackers," Flowey explained, sounding a bit distracted. You heard a strange clunking noise, as if he had pushed down a huge button. "But they weren't supposed to hurt anyone. Just detain them. That changed after everybody went all bloodthirsty, though. Now a lot of them have deadly consequences if you fail."

"Oh." Frisk swallowed audibly. This had all seemed crazy in the beginning, but nothing really bad had happened so far. This... this kind of thing was really beyond them.

But they had to keep going.

"Okay, all set!" Flowey said, sounding very proud of himself. In moments like this, he seemed almost like a child.

With a quiet thanks, Frisk continued onwards, having Flowey help them with one puzzle after another. Once in a while, Frisk would hear him lash his vines against the ground like a whip, but he refused to tell them why.

Eventually, though, even Flowey got caught off-guard.

When Frisk heard a loud  _ ribbit! _ directly to their left, they managed to barely jump backwards in time, wincing when Flowey screeched loudly in surprise.

"What the hell, get out of here you damn frog!" Flowey yelled out, whipping out another one of his vines to snap at the creature that had approached them.

"What is it!?" Frisk asked frantically, heart pounding. Even with their blindness, they had only very rarely felt like they were helpless. They found that they didn't much like the feeling.

"It's just a damn Froggit," Flowey snarled. "Another one of the monsters that occupies the Ruins. Just gimme a second, I'll make it fuck off."

There was a sharp cracking noise, and the creature - the Froggit, made a pained sounding creak. Frisk flinched, suddenly glad that they couldn't see what was happening.

There was times when Frisk hated everything, but there had never  _ truly _ been a time when they wanted to hurt anyone. The thought of Flowey doing it, even to protect them, made their stomach turn.

"C-Can you just scare it away?" They questioned, feeling Flowey's petals brush their cheek as he turned to look at them. "Just... don't kill it, I mean."

There was a heavy silence in the air for a long moment, but it dissipated when the Froggit ran away, ribbiting and meowing in equal measure.

"There," Flowey said. His voice had a strange undertone - something that was not quite irritation, but not necessarily anything positive either. "It's gone. And it's alive."

"Thank you," Frisk said quietly, trying to make sure he could hear their genuine gratitude. After all, it wasn't like they didn't appreciate him helping them. If they had tried to traverse these caverns alone, there was no doubt that they would have fallen to one of the monsters by now, if the spiked traps didn't skewer them first.

They realized it then, in that moment - the strange sound Flowey had been making. He had probably been using his vines and whips to ward off any of the other monsters from approaching them. And he hadn't told Frisk because he didn't want them to get worried.

Frisk let out a sigh, a small smile creeping onto their face despite their better judgement. Flowey did mean well - that was obvious from the start.

"What's with the happy face?" he said suddenly. He must have been observing their expression as they traversed down the long hallways.

"I'm just glad that you're here with me," Frisk said honestly.

They expected him to get embarrassed again, maybe start stuttering and denying any care on his part like a true tsundere, but he was silent.

He leaned against the side of their head, sighing lowly. 

"You're just like the others," he murmured into Frisk's ear. "And it's going to get you killed."

Well. That certainly killed the happy mood that Frisk had been working so hard to cultivate.

...

Eventually, they made it to a small room with a number of leaf piles. Flowey groaned loudly at what he saw ahead of him, nudging Frisk to prevent them from moving forward.

"Wait a sec," he said irritably. "Napstablook is in the way again."

"Napstablook?" Frisk said, straining to try and hear them. But there was nothing - no rustling of the leaves, no sounds of breathing or footsteps.

"They're a ghost monster," Flowey said, correctly guessing what Frisk had been trying to do. "They always fall asleep here, and if you try to get them to move out of the way, they'll attack you. And they're such a fucking crybaby too, it's so annoying."

Well, that didn't sound  _ too _ bad.

"Is there a way we can sneak past them?" Frisk asked quietly, trying not to rouse the sleeping ghost.

"Nah. And my vines won't work on them, either. Tch, what a pain," Flowey grumbled. "Let's just enter a battle with them, and as soon as they move out of the way we can make a run for it. Okay?"

"Okay," Frisk agreed, if with a bit of uncertainty. They were going to just trust Flowey's judgement on this one, it seemed.

Flowey directed them to walk forward, stopping them a few feet later. 

"Okay, now swing out with your stick."

Frisk blinked, startled. "What?"

"Just swing!" Flowey snapped exasperatedly. "You won't hit them, but it'll at least get their attention!"

Frisk gripped their stick, raising it up. They then stood still for a moment, straining to try and hear anything from the ghost. That's when they heard it.

"...zzzzzzzzzzzzz..." Someone was speaking, even if it was a very low tone. The person was just... saying the letter 'z' out-loud repeatedly?

"H-Hey," Frisk stuttered, suspicion rising. "Are you... Are you just  _ pretending _ to be asleep, Napstablook?"

"What?" Flowey squawked, even as Napstablook abruptly fell silent. "What are you talking about? Of course they're asleep! That's always what happens!"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I have a feeling that you wanted to be left alone," Frisk continued, ignoring Flowey's grouching. "But we need to get past here, please."

"...don't care..." Napstablook mumbled, making Flower hiss in anger. "...just go away..."

"I promise, that's what we're trying to do! But we have to get past you to leave," Frisk explained, trying not to set off the ghost. They didn't want to be attacked any time soon, not if they could avoid it anyway.

"I said... go away!" Napstablook growled, and Frisk heard the sound of something sizzling.

Flowey yelped, using his vines to pull Frisk backwards. "Shit, look out! Their tears are acid, we have to get out of here!"

"Just tell me when to run!" Frisk shouted, dodging backwards when they heard more sizzling noises.

Napstablook didn't speak again, only quiet sniffles coming from them as they tried their best to force Frisk out of the room and back where they came from.

"NOW!" Flowey shouted, tugging them in the right direction.

Frisk booked it, keeping their arms above their head just in case. "Sorry Napstablook! We won't come through here again, I hope you get the alone time you wanted!"

"...just shut up..." their voice echoed behind the two.

Frisk kept running, unsure of whether Napstablook would try to chase after them, until Flowey told them to stop.

"This place will be safe for now," he said as Frisk bent over, panting. "This is where the Spider Bake Sale is, so no monsters will come in here."

"A... spider bake sale?" Frisk asked, trying to catch their breath. "Why would that prevent anyone from coming in?"

"The leader of the spiders is a monster called Muffet," Flowey explained. Frisk could feel the way he shifted on their shoulder to get a closer look into the room. "Most monsters are terrified of her. She makes really good food, but she also charges a crazy amount for them, and if you can't pay she has no problem with making you into her next ingredient."

"Oh," Frisk said faintly. "Uh, she's not around  _ here, _ is she?"

"No, don't worry," Flowey confirmed. "She lives in Hotland, this is just one of her bases. She can't actually get in here herself, since the door to the Ruins is locked on the inside, but her spiders have been able to slip under the door in the past. They can't leave anymore, though. Outside the Ruins is the Snowdin forest, and it's too cold for them."

"Too cold?" Frisk asked, brow furrowed. "Well, I guess it can get chilly in a cave..."

"There's  _ actual _ snow," Flowey corrected, sounding vaguely amused. "It never stops snowing, actually. That's why that area is called Snowdin."

Frisk couldn't help it. "Pfft - hahaha! What a stupid pun! That makes me so mad, I can't believe somebody actually named it that. And, what, let me guess - Hotland is hot?"

"Yeah, there's lava!" Flowey laughed, the sound more carefree than anything else that Frisk had heard from him so far. "There's also Waterfall, which is an area with a bunch of - you guessed it! Waterfalls!"

The two laughed together for a minute, enjoying this shared moment of silliness. Frisk's heart felt lighter, like some burden had been lifted from their shoulders, even if it was just for a moment.

Frisk's giggles died down, and they let out a happy sigh, suddenly feeling emboldened. "Hey, do they have food for sale here? I think I still have about ten bucks in my pocket..."

"There's a sign here, let me see..." Flowey leaned away from their shoulder for a moment, reading what the bake sale sign had to say. "Huh, they actually lowered the prices a little bit! That's new. They've got Spider Donuts, and Spider Cider. They won't take your money though, human currency has little worth down here except as a collectors item."

"Ah..." Frisk said, a bit disappointed. They weren't sure if something with 'spider' in the name would be especially good to eat, but it seemed like it had been a long time since dinner, and they  _ were _ starting to get rather hungry...

"I'll pay for it," Flowey offered, nudging the side of their face with his petals. "What do you wanna get?"

"Oh, I couldn't ask for that!" Frisk said, shaking their head and feeling rather flustered. "You said it was expensive, right? I don't wanna take away from your supplies..."

"I'm a flower," Flowey said flatly. "I don't need to eat, trust me. And I have more gold than I know what to do with. I've collected a lot of it over the years, and I've never had much of a reason to use it."

"I... okay," Frisk relented, hearing their stomach growl at the prospect of some food. "How much are they?"

"The Spider Donuts are thirty gold each, and the Spider Cider is forty-five gold a pitcher."

Frisk sucked in a breath, unsure of what to do. They didn't know much of what the gold was worth, or even if it was  _ actual _ gold, but if they just thought of it as the same value as a dollar... That was a lot of money. Frisk wasn't sure if they could ask for something like that, even if Flowey had offered.

"Hey, you better pick something!" Flowey said impatiently. "If you don't, I'm gonna buy up everything they have and then throw it on the ground so that you can't eat any!"

Startled, Frisk let out a giggle. That was just so... so...  _ juvenile! _ Flowey really reminded them of Kyle in that moment - a bratty little kid that would do anything to get his way. Except Flowey made it endearing.

"Okay, two Spider Donuts please," Frisk said, barely avoiding letting out a snort as they tried to get their laughter back under control.

"F-Fine, whatever!" Flowey said. Aw, he was flustered again! "And I'm gonna get you some Spider cider too, 'cause humans need fluids and all that shit."

"Yeah, that's true," Frisk said, his wording making their curiosity peak. "How do you know so much about humans anyway, Flowey?"

The flower monster went still, and Frisk worried that they might have offended him with the question, but he just let out a sigh.

"I already said it, didn't I?" he said, physically turning away from them in a way that Frisk could feel. "I... I met most of the other fallen children. I didn't talk to them much, but... I watched them a lot. I tried to help them. Didn't really seem to matter in the end, though."

Frisk felt something ache inside their chest, but it wasn't their heart - it felt somehow deeper than that.

They sat down, uncaring of the grime and vaguely sticky area of the Ruins they had stopped in. Then, they lifted their hand up to where Flowey was resting, closing it over him in something almost like a hug.

This was the first time they had really touched him, had been able to examine him with their hands. He had a soft, almost spongy texture, and Frisk could feel that a lot of his petals had rips and tears in the side of them. He was trembling.

"It mattered," Frisk murmured. "I promise that it did. Maybe you weren't able to save them, but that doesn't mean that you didn't make a difference."

"They still died," Flowey countered harshly, though the effect was somewhat worn away by the evidence of his tears splashing down on Frisk's skin. "Doesn't that mean I failed? All I had to do was try and keep them alive, keep the promise that I made to them, and I failed."

And that... that was true, Frisk supposed. But it meant something different than what Flowey thought it did, and they weren't quite sure how to express that.

"Do you regret trying to help?" Frisk said finally.

"What, no!" Flowey said, seeming extremely upset at the very suggestion. "If I didn't try, then that would only make me feel  _ worse! _ I would be no better than the other monsters!"

"So that means it mattered," Frisk said softly. "Even if you couldn't save them, you proved to them that it was worth it to keep going. With you around to prove that not all monsters were evil, they didn't give up. Even if they didn't make it, the progress and journey that they went through is not something to mourn. Do you understand?"

Flowey sniffled, before letting out a tired laugh. "Ha... you really are just like them."

Frisk said nothing, merely holding the flower against their chest in a loose hug as he cried over humans long dead and gone.

...

After receiving the food from a couple of very enthusiastic spiders, (Frisk could hear their tiny legs skittering, which was vaguely unsettling but mostly cool), Flowey continued directing them through the Ruins.

He made no mention of his little breakdown, but Frisk honestly didn't expect him to. He seemed to be the type to brush off any kind of emotional conversation, so they were honestly surprised that they managed to get that much out of him.

"Okay, we're almost to Toriel's place," he said suddenly. "So pay attention, 'cause we have to be really careful. If she's in there, we'll have to wait until she leaves. There's no way we can get all the way to the Ruin's door without her spotting us. And if she spots me with you, she'll probably go on a rampage, so let's definitely avoid that if we can."

"Hey, why does she hate you so much?" Frisk asked, cocking their head to the side as they remembered what he had said about Toriel previously. "She looks after the kids and everything, doesn't she? If you're trying to help them stay alive, then shouldn't she see you as an ally?"

"That's implying that she's capable of much rational thought in the first place," he said dryly. "Toriel is mainly driven by her obsessions now, and while she wants to keep the kids safe, she wants them to  _ stay _ with her even more. Even though she always ends up hurting them, she doesn't care. She just thinks that she could protect them better than anyone else, so they  _ have _ to stay with her."

"Oh..."

"To be fair, she's right," Flowey continued, one of his leaves brushing against Frisk's neck as he made a little shrugging motion. "She  _ is _ safer to stay around than any of the other monsters in the Underground, considering she'll protect them from anything that goes wrong. But... the toll on your mental health is huge if you stay with her. You never know what mindset she's in that day, if she'll coddle you and tell you how much she loves you, or try to burn you with her fire..."

Flowey... He spoke about this topic with such familiarity, Frisk couldn't help but wonder if  _ he _ had tried to stay with Toriel at some point, only to be driven out in one of her rages.

Their heart ached for the sadness in their flower friend's tone, and they vowed to keep this 'Toriel' away from him, if she caused him so much despair.

“We won’t get caught, Toriel won’t hurt you or me,” Frisk said firmly. “I’ll make sure of it.”   
  
“Ha. Don’t make promises that you can’t keep.”   
  
There it was - that bitter tone again.   
  
Frisk firmed their resolve. They would not be proven wrong, not about this.   
  
“Hey, hide around the side of the house, okay?” Flowey whispered, directing them on where to go. “I’ll go check inside the place to make sure she’s not here.”   
  
Frisk bit their tongue, keeping themself from protesting. Flowey was doing this for them, for their safety - to try and scorn it now would be unspeakably rude. But still...   
  
“Stay safe,” Frisk whispered in return, feeling Flowey nod before his roots slipped free from around their neck and his weight disappeared.   
  
Frisk stayed crouched on the ground, digging their hands into the dirt they found there. Bricks were pressing against their back, and they let out a shaky sigh. This was definitely the worst part - the waiting. The Froggit surprising them, or Napstablook attacking them felt nothing like this.   
  
The  _ not knowing... _ it was torturous. Was Flowey okay? What was going on? Was he hurt? Was he...?   
  
Frisk shook their head, holding their stick against their chest for comfort. No, they weren’t going to doubt him. Flowey had already proven that he was strong, and that he was capable of defending himself.   
  
But would he defend himself against a woman that he spoke of so fondly...?   
  
No! They wouldn’t think like that. This Toriel lady, whoever she was, would never be as fast as Flowey. He’d been able to scare away all the monsters who came after them with a single attack - he was no slouch in that department. And he moved surprisingly quick for someone who was attached to the ground.

Flowey would be fine.

“What…? A  _ child, _ here?”

Frisk froze, panic filling them. Well, it seemed like Flowey hadn’t found Toriel after all - unless there was some other woman who loved children in this house.

“Oh, dear… You are shaking! You must have had a hard time, getting all the way through the Ruins.” 

Frisk could practically taste her delight, and it only made their shivering get worse. If they had met her first, instead of Flowey, they probably would have found her sweetness relieving. But now, knowing what they know, what Flowey had told them…

It was terrifying.

“But don’t worry, dear child. You are safe now.”

Big arms enveloped them, making Frisk let out a strangled squeak of fear. They were pulled against a warm, fuzzy chest - this monster must have been more animal-based, unlike Flowey’s plant structure. She held onto them tightly, humming to herself.

In perhaps any other situation, Frisk would have found the hug nice, even  _ enjoyable. _ Instead, it was just scary as hell.

Toriel let out a happy sigh, patting Frisk on the head.

"Come with me, child. I will take you home now."

Toriel stood up, Frisk still trapped in her embrace and left dangling in the air.

"Please put me down!" Frisk blurted out, terrified at the thought of being completely at this woman's mercy.

Toriel said nothing, and just stood still for a moment. A long moment, that left Frisk's mind racing as they tried to think of ways to soothe her in case she flew into a rage.

"I-It's just," Frisk began, scrambling for something, anything to get them out of this. "I, uh, would prefer to be on the ground! So that, I, uh, can get used to the terrain?"

Their words trailed off at the end there, leaving them with a very uncertain tone, but it seemed to do the trick.

"Of course, my child!" Toriel said warmly, carefully setting them down so that they were once again standing on their own two feet. "That is very smart thinking, I commend you. Now, come along."

She grabbed their hand, practically dragging them back around the house and to what Frisk had to assume was the front door. Frisk tried not to flinch when the door slammed shut behind them, wondering if this is what it felt like to wander into the lion's den.

Flowey was still nowhere to be found, and Frisk could only hope that he was safe, and not burned to a crisp somewhere in a corner of this very homely prison.

"Here will be your new room, my child!" Toriel said cheerfully, finally letting go of their hand to nudge them forward. "Make yourself at home! I must go attend to the kitchen! I had a good feeling about today, so I made some butterscotch-cinnamon pie! I hope that it will agree with your tastes."

Frisk just nodded, pasting a smile on their face. Toriel still sounded very polite and kind, but Frisk was getting the distinct impression that any kind of disobedience (even something as innocent as disliking a certain flavor) would find them in a very tight spot.

"Thanks, uh, t-that sounds great!" They said, trying their best to emulate her energetic tone. It faltered, just a tiny bit, but Toriel didn't seem to notice. She appeared absolutely thrilled by Frisk's enthusiasm if her little squeal of delight was any indication.

She hurried off, calling a jaunty goodbye over her shoulder, and left Frisk standing alone in the hallway.

They wanted to cry.

How on earth were they supposed to get out of here? They knew that there was a door to exit the Ruins, but without Flowey to show them where it was, there was absolutely no way that they would be able to search for it without being discovered by Toriel.

Frisk let out a slow breath, getting themself back under control. There was nothing to do now but wait. Flowey had said it himself - Toriel was one of the safest places for them in the Underground, even if that didn't mean much.

Reaching out, they fumbled along for the doorknob, pushing it open and carefully entering the room. Really, at this point, Frisk was just hoping that the place wouldn't be covered in blood or something like that.

They went inside, one foot after the other, until their stick hit something - a box, maybe? Frisk kneeled down, resting their hand along the surface of it. Yeah, it was a box. They examined it for a latch, hoping that they could open it and maybe find something inside.

Something that wasn't, like, severed heads. But no, that wouldn't happen, Frisk tried to convince themself. Flowey had said that all of the children had died when they left the Ruins, right? So there wouldn't be any severed hands in here.  _ Obviously. _

...They still opened the box very gingerly. Frisk wrinkled their nose in disgust once the smell hit them - a musty smell, like an old sweater someone had left in the back of their closet for years.

Reaching out, Frisk's fingertips met with something... fluffy. Frisk picked it up, curiosity overriding their previous fear. By studying the face and body of the object, Frisk concluded that it must have been a stuffed animal of some kind.

Obviously an older one, judging by the all of the worn out spots they could feel, and they couldn't quite make out what kind of animal it was supposed to be. Putting it down, Frisk examined the other contents in the box, only to discover that they were all toys of a similar nature.

It was almost like being transported back into the past - some of the toys were made of worn leather, some wooden. A couple of times Frisk had stayed with elderly couples, and they sometimes had toys like this.

It was... calming, sitting here and examine each of the toys one by one. It certainly helped Frisk to center themself, controlling their breathing so that they were no longer on the verge of a panic attack. 

The only thing that would make this better was if Flowey could be here. 

Eventually, having their fill of inspecting the box, Frisk carefully put all the toys back in, and set out to explore the rest of the room.

Right behind the toy box was a bed, twin-size. Frisk flopped on top of it for a moment, letting out a slight groan as they sunk into the plush covers. But they forced themself to get back up before they could drift to sleep, afraid of what might happen if Toriel came across them like that.

There was also a wardrobe in the room, one filled entirely with children's clothes. That... was a bit unnerving, to be honest. There was a lot of sweaters and shirts, and Frisk could tell by touching the fabric that they were all striped. Was that a part of monster fashion, or something?

They would have to ask Flowey later, they decided. Well, hopefully, at least.

All of the clothing was in different sizes, and various styles too. It made Frisk wonder when exactly the last child fell down here, because there were some pieces of clothing that were too complicated for them to even figure out what they were supposed to be!

They briefly debated getting changed, since their clothes were kinda dirty from all the running and falling into the dirt they'd been doing, but ultimately decided not to. There was something about it that just felt... wrong.

Like they were intruding.

And Frisk could understand that - they didn't know if any of the fallen children had actually worn these clothes or not, but if they had, Frisk wouldn't want someone else wearing their stuff after they were gone. 

Shutting the door to the wardrobe, Frisk frowned to themself. There probably wasn't much else for them to do here until Flowey arrived. Would it... Would it really hurt if they took just a small nap?

Not long enough for Toriel to catch them, at least? Yeah, just twenty minutes.

Frisk stumbled over to the bed, already yawning, and simply collapsed on top of it, not even bothering to get under the covers. They dropped their stick by the side of the bed, not willing to get the bed dirty by bringing it with them, even if some part of them wished desperately for the comfort it provided.

Frisk shook their head, tucking one arm under the pillow. This would have to be enough for now. Soon, Flowey would come and help them escape. And Frisk would never let him run off like this again - they could only handle so many scares in one lifetime!

...

Frisk woke to the smell of something sweet. Of course, not having remembered such a thing before they went to bed, it made them shoot up in a panic, praying that Toriel hadn't tried to drug them or something. They weren't willing to put anything past the clearly unstable woman.

They inched out of bed, grabbing their stick and using it to inspect the area. Something was clearly different, they just had to find out what. And,  _ oh _ \- !

Their stick hit something with a small clinking sound... a plate?

Frisk reached out, lightly tapping the edge. Yep, that was a porcelain plate. Fancy! And on top of that plate was some kind of warm pastry.

Oh! Toriel had mentioned that she was making a pie, didn't she?

Frisk couldn't help but smile, despite their worry over the whole situation. Toriel must have finished the pie, and come in to give them a slice before nothing that they were asleep. It was almost sweet... until the thought of Toriel looming over them while they were defenseless came to mind, and then it was just right back to terrifying.

Frisk let out a sigh, lifting the pie and stuffing it in their pocket. They still had one of the Spider Donuts from before, so they probably wouldn't go hungry for a while. Frisk had found that monster food had a very interesting sense of richness - like they only had to eat once a day, or something like that. After all, simply one Spider Donut earlier had been enough to make them full!

Rising to their feet, they strode over to the door. Their hand hovered over the doorknob for a moment, trying to wrack up the courage to keep going. But Frisk's resolve returned to them soon enough, and they swung open the door and started to make their way down the hallway.

"Psst! Frisk! What the heck are you doing?"

_ It was Flowey! _ Frisk could have cried at the immense relief they felt, and they immediately swung around to face the direction his voice was coming from.

"Flowey! Where have you been?" they said, voice trembling against their will.

Flowey's vines wrapped around them, and Frisk stayed still as the flower monster hoisted himself up to his previous position. It probably said something about the fucked up situation they were in that the sensation came as a bit of a comfort.

"I'm sorry, I had to hide," Flowey murmured into their ear, trying not to catch Toriel's attention, wherever she was. "I went out to look for you, but you were already gone. I... I feared the worst. I'm glad to see that you're okay."

"You too, Flowey," Frisk breathed out, raising one hand to pat Flowey on the head. "Now, what do you say we get the hell out of here?"

Flowey cackled, a dark and familiar sound that made Frisk start giggling too.

"Now you're really speaking my language!" he said gleefully. "Come on, I'll show you the way to the basement!"

And so, down the hall the two went, steadily inching their way towards freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> frisk: this is so awful! terrible! i hate everything!  
> flowey: (｡✿‿✿｡)  
> frisk: hm... i'll accept this.
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying this! please let me know what you think. hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com) if you wanna talk/have any questions! till next time <3


	3. their loving will be free

Chara scrambled over the fence, letting out wheezy sounds of amusement as they ran from the officer.

"Hey, get back here you brat!"

But Chara paid them no mind, dodging through city streets and losing the police officer easily. There was no one who knew these darkened alleyways better than Chara, and no damn way that they would be caught here.

The very thought was laughable - Chara couldn't stop themself from giggling at the idea. Their laughter grew and grew until it became almost hysterical, just wheezed huffs of air erupting from their mouth against their will.

Chara staggered, leaning against the brick wall of an old office building, hand covering their mouth as they laughed and laughed and laughed. It was just _so_ funny, they couldn't stop! Tears were running down their face!

_Ha. Ha. Ha._

Their silent laughter abruptly stopped, leaving the sound of quiet sniffles echoing down the alleyway. Chara slid down the wall until they were sitting on the ground, wrapping their arms around their knees and drawing them to their chest.

This _sucked._

Everything sucked and it hurt so bad and Chara didn't even know why they were bothering to try.

The can of spray paint that was held loosely in their hand fell out of their grip, rolling around the concrete for a few seconds before stopping. They couldn't bring themself to bother picking it up, not yet.

It had been a work of art, their newest masterpiece on the administration building of the school, but the high hadn't helped them for long.

Just like always, Chara crashed down in a magnificent and awful way, leaving them shivering and numb under the force of their sudden mood swing.

They dug their nails deeper into the skin under their knees, not caring if it drew blood. That would be what they deserved, wouldn't it? After all, Chara was such an _awful_ child, they deserved this and worse -

Chara took a deep breath, ignoring the way it made their sore throat ache, and let it out slowly. They stood up, slipped the spray paint into the pocket of their jacket, and began the long trek home.

They passed by crowds of people, seeing nothing but fuzzy outlines. Chara watched, dully, as all the citizens of Ebott city passed them by, nothing more than a face in a crowd of what seemed to be millions.

Things didn't used to be this way. Chara could remember a time when they were almost happy - when Mother still lived with them, when Father could smile without seeming pained, when their voice was still their own.

Now, Mother was gone, Father was filled with nothing but anger and regret, and Chara's voice might as well have been the growl of a demon for how coherent it was.

Almost without their noticing, Chara reached up to trace the thick line of scarring on their throat, underneath the neck of their striped sweater. It was ugly and useless, just like Chara.

They could almost say that this was what they deserved.

After the incident, there had been talks about therapy and doctors, specialists who could reduce the scarring left behind by an act of bigotry and violence, but Chara's family could never have afforded something like that.

And even if they could, they shouldn't waste that money on Chara. Chara could take care of themself perfectly fine.

That was one true thing, at least. After losing their voice, it seemed to make Chara even more of a target than they were before. Now that they couldn't speak anymore, the bullies and jerks of this world thought that they wouldn't defend themself.

They were all wrong.

Chara may have lost their voice, but they did not lose their teeth. They learned to bite back when threatened, and eventually to stick first so that no one was given the chance.

After all, going from the freaky demon-eyed kid to the weird mute brat wasn't actually that much of a difference. The only real change was that adults felt sorry for them now.

Before, most of them had seemed to view it as some kind of inevitability that Chara would get the shit kicked out of them constantly. Many had blamed it on Chara's attitude, but that was _bullshit._

Chara used to be... Chara used to be _kinder._ They would laugh more often, and more freely. They would make friends, eager to be around others, and they loved so deeply that sometimes it made their chest hurt.

They mourned it sometimes - the person that they used to be. But there was no going back anymore. They could only go forward.

The Chara of the past might have been mischievous and soft-hearted, but the Chara of today only wanted people to leave them the hell alone.

And if they had to beat that message into a few jerks? All the better. Might as well make sure that nobody gets any ideas.

Chara didn't care if people hated them. Chara didn't care about anything except themself.

And that made them an evil demon, right?

...

The gate to their garden was unlocked, as usual. Chara wasn't sure if it had ever actually had a lock in the first place, to be honest. The hinges were rusted, and squeaked in a way that made Chara physically wince as they stepped through.

They wondered, briefly, if Father was home, and then dismissed it. Whether he was or wasn't, it didn't matter. Chara would still receive the same treatment.

Taking their shoes off at the door, they heard the faint sounds of people talking from another room. Considering that their Father never had people over, he must have been watching TV. Another one of those trashy hallmark movies that Chara hated, probably.

Once upon a time, Chara had loved to trash talk those damn things with their Mother's help as Father protested in the background, jokingly threatening to get rid of the remote so that they would be stuck watching hallmark movies until the end of time.

To think, that threat had been enough to horrify them at the time. Now, with their Father having the movies on almost constantly, and Chara without their partner in crime, the whole thing had become more of a habit than anything else.

Chara had long ago stopped trying to needly him about anything. It wasn't worth dealing with his sudden and explosive temper, or his dramatic weeping and apologizing as he tried to it back.

It was easier to just let him watch his shitty movies in peace. It seemed like Chara had been settling for the easier option a lot these days.

Peeking through the entrance to the living room, Chara saw him - beer in hand, a completely blank expression on his face. He might as well have been staring at a screen of static for all that he was paying attention.

This movie was just the same as all the other ones; a young girl, inexplicably beautiful (even though she very often denied it) who might have been a single mother, or a happy-go-lucky adventurer, or a cold businesswoman, met an older and inexplicably handsome man (who knew it quite well) that might have been a sweet childhood friend, or a brooding douchebag with a soft spot for animals, or a sexy businessman that wanted to close down the community pool or something.

Chara could predict all these plots so easily - the iced woman's heart would melt, or the businessman would learn the true value of the people around him, and they would be very in love and that would be their happily ever after.

No hallmark movie ever goes into what happens after the wedding. No hallmark movie ever shows the viewers what to do if your lives are falling apart, if your child is mutilated and your wife leaves you and everything just breaks into a million pieces.

Maybe that was what Father liked to much about them. He didn't have to think about his own life, or his own tragedies. In fact, he didn't really have to think much at all.

Sometimes, Chara wished that they could be like that too. But then their scar would start to itch, that uncompromising rush of anger would hit them again, and it was just over.

No more happiness for that freak mute kid, the universe was saying. Didn't they already take up more than their fair share?

Which, fair enough.

For eight long years, Chara had lived the life of a precious, adored child, and now two years later, it was probably about time that someone else got to try it out.

Chara was fine with the way things were now. They could stick to punching brick walls and seeing the way that the blood ran down their fingertips, and their Father could have his hallmark movies.

A horrible demon child Chara may be, but they weren't one to rock the boat - not like this, at least.

Leaving their Father to his fantasy of a happy ending, Chara crept upstairs. It was almost time for dinner, so he would doubtless call them down before long. They could spend this time doodling all over their homework, and purposefully writing down answers that were just enough to let them pass, but clearly didn't have any effort in them.

Chara particularly enjoyed putting text slang in their work, because they liked to make people miserable, and especially when it was their teachers.

There was only one teacher in the school that ever fucking bothered to look after Chara, and that was Ms. Linda. She was the one that had introduced them to sign language in the first place, and had patiently sat there as Chara struggled to make their fingers move the way they wanted.

If she wasn't there, Chara probably would have stopped going to school entirely. What would be the point? It wasn't like their Father would care.

Hell, Chara wasn't sure he would even _notice!_ He certainly hadn't noticed that they'd been gone for almost the entire day. He probably wouldn't notice if Chara went missing for a month.

That, of course, only gave them ideas - ideas which even Chara was quick to smackdown. They didn't have time for another manic episode right now. They didn't have to time to just wander off.

They didn't have time to disappear, to vanish into the mountain range surrounding Ebott city and never be heard from again, just like _little horrible demon children_ should -

"Kid! Dinner!"

Chara shook their head wildly, as if clearing out water. Without their notice, they'd automatically packed their backpack, and already had one foot on the windowsill as if they were going to jump down from the second story.

God, _what the hell._

Chara scrambled backwards, trembling despite themself. They'd never done that before. Sure, their adrenaline highs always made them feel like they were invincible, always made them feel like they could take on way more than they should, but it had never been anything like that.

Chara had always had control. Even when their Mother left. Even when their Father began to drink and call them by other names and cry so, so much. Even when that piece of human filth had reached down and tried to slash open their throat -

They had still been in control. The fact that they hadn't been in control that moment, not even of themself, was more terrifying than they were willing to admit.

For once, it was probably a good thing that their Father never actually ventured up to their room to fetch them. It wouldn't be good if he got any ideas.

Gently placing their backpack at the foot of their bed, Chara took a deep breath and willed themself to calm down. They could handle this, just as they had handled every other obstacle before.

Nothing could stand in Chara's way - nothing that wanted to live, at least.

…

Dinner was a quiet affair, as usual. Chara could only speak with their hands, and their Father hadn't bothered the to learn sign language. He had picked up the meaning of a few signs merely through exposure, but he hadn't bothered to put any effort in. As a result, Chara could never really have a conversation with him unless they wrote everything down, which was both cumbersome and extremely inconvenient.

Chara would rather say nothing at all than have to carry a whiteboard around with them, but this was the life they lived. Ms. Linda may have been the one to teach them sign language in the first place, but that didn't mean that anyone else within the school knew it, especially the other students. Her son Kyle was the only one who could do sign language that was around Chara's age, but they weren't in the same class. He wasn't around most of the time, and through no real fault of his own. He was a bit younger than them, after all, so they rarely saw each other within the school.

Chara's circumstances were no one's fault. Really, they could get angry at their classmates and teachers for not learning sign, or at Ms. Linda for teaching them if it was only going to turn out this way, but in the end it just didn't matter.

Chara had a voice that didn't work and hands that no one could understand. Seemed fitting, for a demon child.

They picked moodily at their mashed potatoes, staring at the paper plate with empty eyes. Ha, for once, Father and child looked exactly the same.

Both of them completely and utterly empty.

*Thank you,* Chara signed, catching their Father's attention. He merely grunted, which was actually a better response than they had expected.

They stood up from the table and dumped their plate in the trash and their silverware in the sink, preparing to go back upstairs and sulk some more, but a sudden voice from behind them stalled their advance.

"You get your grades back yet?" Their Father asked gruffly.

Chara stiffened. They thought, briefly, to the crumpled up letter at the bottom of their dirty backpack, and then turned to him. They smiled, wide and innocent, and then shook their head.

_Liar, liar._

He studied them for a long moment, and Chara wondered if he could see their Mother's mischievousness in the curve of their grin, the way her mouth always split open too wide when she was hiding something.

But if he did see it, he didn't care enough to comment on it. He just turned back to his dinner.

"You better be doing well," he said, in an almost casual tone, despite the underlying threat in there that Chara could hear. "We don't pay for you to go to some shitty public school just so you can drop out and make even more problems for us."

_We. Us._

He still talked like there was someone else there, as if Mother was just down the block, and they were only waiting for her to come back.

It was _pathetic._ It made Chara sick.

But they nodded obediently, smile still _wide, wide, wide,_ and headed back upstairs once it was clear that he was done.

As they walked up the stairs, their hands were shaking. They had only barely avoided a blowout, and that made Chara furious. How dare he? How dare he?

How dare he act like the shitty 'help' he gave Chara was worth anything, how dare he act like he was owed something from them?

It always went like this. Father would ask them to do something, they would perform the task to the best of their ability, and then he would nitpick and criticize them until they were a boiling mess of rage and fear.

They were only lucky that he didn't start screaming at them this time - he tended to do that, when he felt like Chara was 'disrespecting' him. As if that man was even worthy of respect.

Chara could understand why he would be angry with them; after all, they were a demon child, but it wasn't just them who would bear the brunt of his anger. Anyone could see him at a bad time and be hit with the backlash. Servers who took too long with the order, cashiers who wouldn't accept his coupons, people who cut him off in traffic, Ms. Linda the one time she had come over to their house and offered to teach him sign language.

"I don't need none of that bullshit!" he'd yelled, ignoring his child who was cowering behind the couch in the living room. "Get outta here! You're not gonna sell anything to me, bitch!"

So, yeah. It was safe to assume that Chara didn't trust their Father with anything - not even their respect.

Their mind was a haze of emotion, unable to think through the great pounding in their skull. Chara slammed their bedroom door behind them, hoping that would help leak off some of the tension, but it did nothing.

They could still feel that rage bubbling up inside of them, and they grinned _wide, wide, wide._

Chara came back to themself a few minutes later, panting from exhaustion as they took in the destruction of their room.

They had completely stripped their bed, throwing the pillows and sheets around - one of them was behind their lamp, which was suddenly missing its lampshade. Their one stuffed animal, a snake that their Mother had won for them at the carnival many years ago, was twisted up into a knot, its beady plastic eyes begging for help.

Chara ignored it, continuing to survey their handiwork.

Their backpack, which had been filled with plenty of essentials from earlier, would have been the perfect thing for Angry Chara to upend all over the floor, but it hadn't been touched. Chara wandered over to it, laying their hand on the strap.

It would be so easy... It would be so easy to just run, to just get out of this place forever.

But Chara wouldn't, couldn't, do that. Even if their Father wouldn't give a shit about their disappearance, they still had nowhere else to go.

Sure, they could run away. They could vanish into Mt. Ebott and never be seen again like all those other kids, but it wouldn't mean a damn thing.

So, hands trembling with some emotion that they couldn't name, Chara shoved their backpack to the side, climbed onto their bare mattress, and drifted off into a restless sleep.

...

_"Let's play a game!"_

_"Okay, sweetie. What game do you want to play? Make sure it's one that everyone in the family can do!"_

_"Let's play missing, Mama! I'll go missing, and you have to find me!"_

_"Oo! Mama loves that game! Okay Chara, I'm going to count to ten, and then Papa and I are going to find you, okay?"_

_"You better! I'm counting on you!"_

...

Chara woke up with a dry mouth and the vague sensation of having lost something. Something important. They couldn't quite pick it out...

They were too distracted by that awful smell. Had their Father burned something in the kitchen again? And... had their bed always been so hard and uncomfortable??

They blinked open their eyes, wondering how all this dirt had gotten onto their mattress. And then, abruptly, they realized that there was no dirt on their matters, and that they weren't even on their mattress in the first place!

Ah, _fuck._

Chara clambered to their feet, looking around to try and see just where the hell they had ended up.

What. What. What???

How the fuck had they managed to climb up an entire mountain in their sleep?? That was insane!

Chara gaped, looking off into the distance where they could see buildings rising out on the edge of the forest. It looked like a scene out of a movie or something, and Chara actually felt themself relax at the sight of it.

They still had no fucking clue how they managed to get up here, though, which kinda dampened the experience a little bit.

The sun was rising on the horizon, so it was probably early in the morning. Did Chara truly sleepwalk here? That didn't seem possible. Besides, Chara had never sleep walked before...

Well, at least to the extent of their knowledge.

Chara shivered - that was a scary line of thought to go down. Best to push it aside, then.

So, if they didn't sleepwalk, how did they get here? Another manic episode, maybe?

...It was possible, as much as they didn't want to admit it. But they had never had an episode like this before, and especially not one that they couldn't remember.

Well, there was nothing to be done for it now. Chara dusted off their brown shorts, trying to get as much of the dirt and travel dust off their outfit as possible. Their sweater would survive, thankfully, but they hadn't brought a jacket with them.

In fact, the only thing in their pocket was a small pocket knife, perfect for cutting plants and vines. It used to be their Mother's, but like many things, Chara had inherited it after she was gone.

They had one other thing. Chara lifted their hand to their chest, gently caressing it. They didn't remember putting it on, but they must have at some point.

It was a heart locket, golden in color and shining like the sun. It said 'best friends forever'.

Chara had never had a best friend, or anyone else who would have the matching locket to this one. They had simply found it one day, when they were avoiding school by going on another 'detour'.

There was a large river, in Ebott City. Everyone avoided it, because it was filled with trash, and thus stunk to high heaven. But Chara liked to go down there for that very reason - no one would bother them while they hung around like a gloomy storm cloud.

They'd found some very interesting things at Ebott River over the years. A full box-set of some weird hentai anime, once (which Chara had quickly thrown back into the river, face burning with [ ~~embarrassment~~ ] disgust), a somehow undamaged and completely dry box of fancy tea (which they had taken home and pretended to be a British nobleman with), and a pair of golden lockets, their chains intertwined like they couldn't bear to let the other go.

But Chara had only been able to rescue one of the lockets - the other, once free of it's companion, had slipped from their grasp and fallen back into the river, drifting off with the steady current before Chara could stop it.

Talk about loyalty, huh?

So Chara had kept the locket, instead of hawking it off like they were originally planning to. There was no point in selling only one part of a set, they had reasoned to themself, dutifully ignoring the fact that they had really decided to keep it because it had reminded them of themself.

That was projecting just a bit too much, so Chara kept that bit strictly in their head.

Of course, Chara barely wore the locket. Wearing a piece of jewelry made out of solid gold was just asking for trouble, after all. Chara wasn't that stupid. The only times they would wear it was when they were having a particularly awful day, and just needed to be reminded that they could actually touch things without immediately destroying them.

Maybe Manic-Chara had been having a particularly awful day. It wouldn't be surprising.

Chara sighed, letting their hand drop off the locket and stretching their arms out. It was probably time to head back. They had school in a couple of hours, and they had no idea how long it would take them to get back to the city proper from here.

Yep, it was time to get going. Any second now, and they would start moving. Any second...

Chara remained frozen. Why weren't they moving? Why did their feet refuse to start walking??

Almost against their will, Chara's gaze was drawn back to the mountain. It was the same as ever, but it seemed to have some kind of energy to it. Something that was drawing Chara closer, closer.

They finally started moving, but it wasn't to find a path off the mountain. They moved inwards instead, head filling with fog as they took one step after another.

In only a few minutes, as if their feet had known exactly where to guide them, Chara came across a cave. Within that cave, only a few feet deep, there was a hole.

Chara stared down in impassively, mind blank. They weren't thinking of anything. Not their school, not Ms. Linda or Kyle, not their Father and certainly not their Mother.

Chara just looked down. Took a step forward. And -

_F e l l ._

...

Chara woke to the sound of shuffling feet and someone mumbling words that Chara couldn't quite make out. With a silent groan, Chara sat up, rubbing at their eyes. When they finally blinked them open, trying in vain to get rid of the dull ache in the back of their head, they noticed a person sitting next to them.

It was another kid. One with the same sweater as them, and the same shorts, and the same locket, and the same... face.

Chara scrambled to their feet, heart pounding as the doppelganger merely smiled at them.

"Greetings," they said, their face never twitching from that eerie expression. "My name is Chara. Who might you be?"

*Chara,* they signed reflexively, unable to stop their staring. Chara knew that their eyes must have been wide with shock, but they didn't know how else to react. *I'm Chara. How can you be Chara? What the hell is going on?*

"Something to do with magic, I would guess," the other Chara said. They seemed to have no problem keeping up with Chara's rapid hand signs, and the child found themself reluctantly impressed, despite the absurdity of this whole situation.

*Don't bullshit me!* they signed furiously. *What, you think you can get one over on the dumb mute kid or something? Fuck you!*

"My, my, you do have a temper, don't you," the other commented carelessly, uncaring of the way it just made Chara's temper rise faster. "What else could this be, really? We went into a mountain which no one returns from, and now we're here. Magic seems like a rather obvious solution, doesn't it?"

Chara stared in disbelief. This weird kid actually believed that! They believed in magic.

Ha. Next thing they knew, this imposter would be saying that they believed in happy endings. Maybe that was what Chara needed though - that would be the perfect indicator that this faker was some kind of weird hallucination, just like they suspected.

Chara shook their head and turned, intent on ignoring this weirdo, only to notice two other children sitting a small distance away.

They didn't look exactly the same, not like Fake-Chara did. They were wearing striped sweaters, yes, but they were different colors, with more stripes on them. They also had darker hair, and darker skin, too. Chara couldn't see their faces perfectly, since one of them had their back to Chara and the other one had their head down, but Chara figured that their faces would be different too.

_...What the hell?_

Chara stomped over to them, their temper rising almost beyond their control. They hated this! they hated this!

They just wanted everything to shut up! They wanted this Fake-Chara to stop following them around, they wanted these two idiots to just fucking disappear already - !

Without their conscious input, Chara reached out and shoved the other weird kid to the ground, ignoring how the one that had been sitting down scrambled backwards to get away.

Is this a dream? That's what the stupid kid had said, right? Chara had heard it, barely, over the pounding in their ears. So...

*If this is a dream," Chara signed angrily, staring down at the child who was watching them with wide, bright red eyes just a shade different from their own. *Then I am going to make sure that we n e v e r wake up.*

From out of their back pocket, Chara drew their knife, heart pounding, and slashed d o w n . . .

And hit empty air.

They blinked, vision suddenly clearing of the angry haze that had taken them over before. Dumbfoundedly, they stared down at where the other child had been sprawled on the weird black floor, and there was nothing there.

They had just vanished, as if the ground had opened up and swallowed them whole.

Against their will, Chara glanced at the knife cliched tightly in their hands. It was shaking. Wait, no... Their hands were shaking?

Why...? _Why?_ Why did they _always_ do this? Why were they such a _horrible, awful demon_ child - !

"My, how interesting," Fake-Chara mused, their hand on their chin, looking like some kind of fucking aristocrat. "It seems your violent intent caused them to vanish, Chara. Probably for the best, that."

*Don't you fucking patronize - *

"W-What?" the last kid stuttered, sitting up a little and gazing in their direction. Chara saw the milky film over their eyes, and realized it immediately. Blind, huh? What a great crew they were. "Violent intent? What did you do to them?"

*The same thing I'm gonna do to you,* Chara signed back out of reflex, only to let out a soft huff of frustration once they realized that the other wouldn't be able to see it.

Fake-Chara placed a hand on their shoulder, which they smacked off with a snarl, and then turned to address the other kid with that same weird smirk.

"The same thing I'm gonna do to you," they reported, sounding rather amused by the whole thing. It was the first genuine emotion that they had heard from this weirdo, and that was pretty terrifying. "That's what my companion signed, anyway. I would run, if I were you."

Chara shoved them, feeling somehow offended that they thought Chara was actually that crazy... but then again, they hadn't been acting very sane and rational lately, had they?

But now the other kid, the one with a darker sweater, was making little weepy sounds and it was making Chara feel bad. Chara did not _like_ to feel bad.

Chara liked to feel powerful.

So as the kid struggled to their feet, Chara reached out to pull them closer - maybe to hug them or strangle them, even Chara didn't fucking know at this point, but they fell through the floor just like the other one, leaving Chara to stare at empty air once again.

"Ah." Fake-Chara said, patting them on the shoulder despite the way Chara bared their teeth at them for the action. "Unfortunate. You didn't manage to catch their names, did you?"

Chara scowled, moving away from the other and trying to hide how vulnerable the action made them feel.

*No. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you.*

"That's fair," they said, smiling serenely. "Now, would you mind trying to kill me?"

What? _What?_

*What the hell,* Chara signed shakily, feeling somehow betrayed by the question. Shit. Fuck. This was what they got for daring to get their hopes up about anything, even subconsciously - !

"Well, it seems that you attempting to hurt the others was enough to make them vanish," they pointed out, still utterly calm and unaffected. "I don't particularly wish to stay here for the rest of my life, if it's all the same to you."

*Y'know what? Fine. Fine!* Chara snapped, pulling out their knife again and charging forward. *Remember, you asked for this!*

Chara reached up, ready to slash the knife across this jerk's stupid, smug face... And then stopped.

The tip of their knife was halted an inch away from the other's forehead, their eyes bring into Chara with a blankness that made them shiver.

"Really?" they questioned, uncaring of the knife hovering a hair's breadth away from their skin. Their smiled curled up a little bit more, turning to something mocking. "After all of your bravado, this is all you're capable of? My, my... Perhaps I overestimated you, other me."

Chara wrenched their knife back, blood boiling in their veins, but not the same as before. No, this time they were in control.

And they thought this was _hilarious._

Wheezy, rasping sounds escaped their mouth, lips stretched wide in a smile that they knew was far more unnerving than the one the other child was sporting. Chara watched their reaction, filled with satisfaction at the way they faltered.

Still laughing their silent laugh, they tucked the knife away, bringing their hands up to sign to the other.

*Please... Do you really think I'm that much of an idiot? Fuck off, jackass. I'm not gonna get goaded into doing what you want. I'm no fucking puppet.*

There smile twitched, and Chara was darkly satisfied to see how a touch of coldness entered their expression.

"You misunderstand me," they managed to say, still keeping up with that fancy speech despite the way they clearly wanted to tell Chara off. "I merely thought that it would be a good idea to get out of here. Don't you find this place boring?"

*Yeah, sure,* Chara admitted, shrugging. *But I don't see how getting you out of here helps me.*

"...It would not."

*Exactly.* Chara smirked. This was the feeling that they had missed - no more mood swings, no more sleepwalking, no more bullshit. This time, they were the one in control. *So how about you just fuck off, okay?*

And with that parting shot, Chara concentrated. There was nothing that Chara couldn't control, especially when it came to themself. If they wanted to leave this creepy-ass void, then they damn well would!

_I'm going to keep moving. You can't keep me here. I'm leaving!_

And the ground opened up beneath them, leaving Chara to shoot just one last triumphant smirk at their wide-eyed counterpart before they fell into the darkness.

...

When Chara woke up, it was on a bed of wild flowers. They wrinkled their nose, quickly getting off of them, carefully making sure that no leaves or seeds were clinging to them.

Buttercups. Chara _hated_ buttercups. They were ugly, and poisonous to boot.

Mother, of course, had loved them. So as soon as she had left, Chara had gone out into her garden and stomped on all of them with their boots. Served her right.

Chara looked around them, trying to see where they had landed. They had jumped down a fucking hole, of course, because they were a dumbass, but they hadn't known that the cave went down this deep.

This was Mt. Ebott, wasn't it? Chara had never heard anything about the mountain having a tunnel system, but then again... A place like that was probably the easiest way for dumb little children like them to fall and get themselves killed, right?

Idly, Chara wondered if they would find any bodies. At least five kids had gone missing on this mountain, right? And that was only the ones where somebody had bothered to talk to the police about it. Who knew how many children had wandered up here in search of adventure, or chasing old ghost stories, only to fall prey to the mountain's natural defenses?

Chara's hand clenched around their locket as their thoughts drifted back to those other three kids in that strange, dream-like place.

No, they decided, they would rather not find any bodies. Maybe when they got out of here, they could show some adults where the tunnel systems were and they could look for the bodies? Yeah, that sounded like a plan.

And if they were going to become a national hero and gain the admiration of demon children everywhere, they had to get moving.

Chara tramped down the tunnel, curiosity piqued at the way the rocks had formed. They seemed a bit too perfect to be made naturally. It looked almost like a hallway…

Was there some kind of ancient civilization down here? Man... how awesome would that be?! Chara couldn't wait to fuck up all their shit.

And so, with that happy thought in mind, Chara continued forward, spotting something white and... fluffy? It was right in front of them, in a nicely groomed patch of grass.

Chara walked up to it, wondering if it would be safe to pick it up. Upon further inspection, it appeared to be some kind of plush toy. Chara had absolutely no idea what animal it was supposed to be, though - it kind of looked like a toy poodle, but it had what looked like a really weird hairstyle on it for some reason?

Rolling their eyes, Chara reached down to grab it. One of the other fallen children must have dropped it here, or it had fallen through a crack in the mountain, or a hundred other things. Chara, though... Chara felt rather sorry for the thing. No one likes to be abandoned, after all.

But just as their hand clasped around the thing's front leg, its eyes snapped open.

"Hoi!" the monstrosity barked cheerfully, making Chara let go and stumble backwards with a surprised gasp. "I'm Temmie! Are u new to da UNDERGROUND? Cute humans must be SO confuzzed!"

What the actual hell. Yeah, Chara was confused, but moreover this thing's whole facial configuration. How? How?? How did something like this exist???

"Is OKAY!" Temmie said cheerfully, reaching out one of their long, horribly creepy legs to boop Chara on the nose. "Tem will HELP! Tem EXPLAIN!"

Chara could practically see the grammatical errors, but they shook it off and glared down at the weird toy.

*And how exactly do you plan on helping me?* they demanded, hand movements sharp and angry.

Temmie's eyes tracked their motions, and then the creature _smiled._ It was not a cheerful smile. It looked vicious.

Chara recognized that look easily, and felt a chill go up their spine. That was the look of someone who had just found their next target - who had found an easy target.

"Tem will SHOW U NOW!" the creature said, their face still split by that anticipatory grin. Chara felt a tugging sensation, as if someone was trying to reach deep into their skin and pull something out -

A small red heart appeared as Chara bent over on their knees, panting with exertion. Somehow, they had known that they didn't want this outcome, and had tried to stop it from happening. But there was nothing they could do.

Around Temmie, a ring of pure white pellets appeared. "Take some TEM FLAKES, yaya! Makes u BIG and STRONG! But no gross muscles!!! Pure CUTE!"

Chara did not want any Temmie flakes. They weren't _that_ stupid.

Dodging to the left, the small heart followed them. When they did so, Temmie's face contorted, showing nothing but an unending anger for that one split-second.

"U MISS!" Temmie said, their smile strained. "We TRY AGAIN!"

Chara just scoffed, dodging once again when the pellets came flying at them.

*Just knock it off already,* Chara signed, sneering at the toy. *You're making an embarrassment of yourself.*

Temmie growled, their face distorting into an awful glare.

"Oh, I see how it is," they said, suddenly dropping any of that 'cutesy' shit they'd been trying before. "You know what's going on. You're doing this on purpose! You just want me to SUFFER, don't you? Fine then!"

A ring of pellets surrounded Chara, leaving them with nowhere to go.

"If you won't accept my love, then taste my LOVE, you damn brat!"

Chara sucked in a breath, eyes darting around as they looked for some way to escape. There was no way they would die here, to some damn psychopathic plushie!

"In this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED!"

Before Chara could find out what side of the equation they were going to land on, the pellets were swept out of the air by a ring of fire that appeared around them, circling Chara protectively for a moment before dissipating.

"Oh, shit," Temmie said, before another ball of fire appeared and launched the little creep off into the depths of the cavern.

Another monster walked towards them, this one tall and intimidating despite the gentle expression he wore.

"You have my apologies, child," he said quietly, kneeling down so that he was closer to their height. "I hope my fire didn't startle you. Are you hurt anywhere?"

Chara just shook their head, unsure of what else to do. He seemed to be some kind of... goat man? They had no idea how else to describe him. He had long, curling horns that went past his forehead, and his entire body was covered in a layer of thick white fur.

It looked like the perfect thing to sink their hands into, honestly, and Chara had to literally lock their arms behind their back to stop themself from doing so.

"I am glad to hear it," he said, muzzle pulling up into a smile. "My name is Asgore. I am the Keeper of the Ruins, which is this area of the Underground that you have found yourself in."

*Underground...?* Chara signed hesitantly, wondering if they could get some answers from this guy. *The toy mentioned that. What is this place? What are you guys?*

Asgore followed along with their movements, but sighed mournfully.

"I am so sorry, child. It seems that I am not familiar with your version of sign language. However, if you would be willing to come with me for a time, I can bring you back to my house and allow you to write down your story."

Chara stiffened, hands left hovering useless in the air. Their every instinct told them no, you don't ever follow an adult back to their house, what's wrong with you? But...

Somehow, they _wanted_ to trust Asgore. They wanted him to be telling the truth.

So, they nodded, allowing the monster to take their hand as he started going down the hall.

If it turned out that he was lying, well... Chara's free hand brushed against their back pocket, where their knife was still warm to the touch.

If Asgore was lying, then they had a way to deal with it.

...

Asgore led them through the ruins, past more of those golden flower beds that seemingly sprouted up through the stone flooring. There was definitely a civilization down here, just like Chara had suspected. Some of the architecture was really brilliant, too!

There was a couple of different 'puzzles' too, which Chara quickly realized were traps meant to slow down intruders. Very clever, all around. Chara was pretty impressed, to tell the truth. Which they never would, but they could at least admit it inside their own head.

Eventually, Asgore slowed to a stop in front of an old training dummy. It seemed like its mouth had been torn open at some point, and it had a great number of puncture wounds. Fluff was spilling everywhere.

It was kinda cute, actually.

"Now, child," Asgore rumbled in that deep voice of his. "There are some things about the Underground that I must explain to you. As a human, monsters will inevitably attack you. Some for your soul, some because they are curious, and some because they are scared. But most, if not all, of the monsters that you see may try to harm you."

Chara shot him a panicked look, hoping that he wasn't going to start listing the time and date of their death or anything.

Seeing their expression, he sighed, and it was a heavy and mournful sound. "I do not say this to scare you. I merely want you to be prepared. Despite their actions, I cannot think of many monsters that will come at you with truly harmful intent. But there are some who will. Though I ask you to show them mercy, whenever possible... I also must ask you to fight."

Chara stared. What? This didn't make any sense. Adults were always telling Chara to be more kind, more considerate, to not fight people. Why was he telling them different.

Asgore reached out for a moment, as if he wanted to pat them on the head, but he retracted his hand when it was halfway out, a bit of an awkward expression blooming on his face.

"I know that this is all... _different_ to you. But you are not the first human child to pass through here. The others..." Asgore's eyes closed, his large fluffy paws shaking. "They were all good, intelligent children. Just like you. And I was a fool. I thought... I thought that they would be offered mercy. That the monsters beyond the Ruins would at the very least _hesitate_ before killing a child... But it was not to be. Those children, those _kind_ children, all died at the hands of the monsters I once called my friends. I do not want any more innocents to get hurt. And I do not think I can describe those monsters as 'innocent' any longer. I want you to fight, child. I want you to _live."_

Chara blinked up at him, feeling some unknown emotion swelling in their chest. What... what was this? This...

They clutched at the front of their sweater, and Asgore let out a little chuckle and cleared his throat, clearly rather embarrassed at acting so emotional in front of them.

"Try it out on this training dummy," Asgore suggested, walking over to stand beside it. "I know that you don't have a weapon right now, but - "

Chara cut him off by reaching into their pocket and pulling out the knife, eyes flicking to watch his every move. He wanted them to be able to protect themself, right? So he wouldn't get angry at them for having the knife... right?

He seemed a bit surprised, certainly, but the expression cleared quickly and he smiled at them.

"A gardening trowel? Well, that certainly works. But make sure to let me know if you would like a different weapon, child."

Asgore then gestured to the Dummy, urging Chara to step forward. They did so, still feeling a great amount of confusion at the situation. Asgore hadn't scolded them, or tried to hit them or anything. So shouldn't they be happy? They just... they just didn't know. They didn't know how to react. They didn't know what to do!

"Hey!" the Dummy barked out, a small pair of eyes appearing on its head as it opened its cotton-filled mouth wide. "What are you just standing there for, huh?? Do you want to test your attacks or what??? Are you just too CHICKEN???"

Despite their shock at the apparently sentient Dummy, Chara could feel their arm begin to shake as they boiled with rage.

This stupid, _fucking_ thing - !

But then, they took a deep breath. This was just like the situation before, with that Fake-Chara. The Dummy was just trying to goad them, trying to trick them into making a fool of themself. Well, it wouldn't work.

When Chara just folded their arms across their chest and looked away with a disdainful sniff, the Dummy lost it, rocking back and forth unsteadily on its little stand.

"Hey!! ARE YOU AN IDIOT??? This is your best chance to test an attack, HUMAN! Are you really not up to the challenge?" the Dummy taunted, shuffling around and trying to make Chara pay attention to it.

But they refused, stubbornly looking away every time the Dummy moved to be in their line of sight.

"HEY!! I'M TALKING TO YOU!" the Dummy screamed, practically frothing at the mouth. In fact, cotton was falling out of its mouth with every word, leaving little puffballs floating everywhere.

Chara held out their hand, palm up and facing out, and put the other hand on their hip -  the universal gesture of 'talk to the hand'.

The Dummy exploded, bellowing its outrage.

Its cloth got redder and redder, a physical manifestation of its rage, and still Chara refused to react. Asgore was actually the one to step forward, looking a bit concerned as he stretched out his hand.

"Alright now, I believe that's enough - "

But he was cut off by the Dummy's final scream, echoing through the cavern so loudly that it even made Chara wince and block their ears.

_"YOU - !!!"_

There was a faint flash of light, drawing Chara's gaze back to the Dummy against their will. As the light faded, they saw that the Dummy had somehow changed forms. It looked almost the same, except for the fact that all of its wounds had disappeared, and there was a broad smile on its face.

"Oh, human! Look what you've done!" the Dummy said cheerfully, actually managing to creep Chara out with the sudden mood change. "You made me so angry... I went and fused with this body! Finally! I'm so glad. Oh, _thank you,_ human! Thank you!"

Then, a huge grin still on its face, the Dummy floated up through the ceiling and disappeared.

Asgore and Chara just stood there in silence for a long moment, until the tall goat monster cleared his throat.

"Well then..." he said, a bit awkwardly, looking down at Chara as if he had never seen anything like them before. "Good work?"

It sounded like more of a question than anything, but Chara still chose to take it as a compliment, smirking up at him proudly.

Upon seeing their face, Asgore laughed out loud.

"Yes, well done child," Asgore said warmly. "This may not have been the plan, but... It seems that trying things out your way has some benefits, does it not?"

Chara nodded, holding out their hand to him without thinking. When they noticed what they'd done, they went to quickly retract it, but Asgore reached out to grasp their hand gently, not making any fuss about the gesture.

"Come with me, child. We shall go further into the Ruins." Bringing them through the doorway, the two of them kept moving forward.

At the end of the next area, there was a large spike puzzle. Asgore hummed to himself, letting go of Chara to put his hand on his chin in contemplation.

"Please wait here for a moment, child," he said distractedly. "I would not like you to get hurt, so I wish to make sure that I remember the pattern for this room exactly."

Chara nodded, taking a step back to allow him some room. They wandered back through the hall just a little bit, wanting to read the sign that was on the wall.

But they had barely even taken a few steps before they were confronted by another monster.

It was... like a frog, almost? But with some type of crown on its head, and somewhat... spiky.

The monster woofed, bounding closer as Chara stood their ground. Their hand brushed against the knife in their pocket, but they didn't take it out just yet.

Instead, they stared down the creature, not relenting even when it made a curious creaking sound and hopped right up to them.

"Robbit, robbit," it muttered, leaning forward to look Chara dead in the eye.

Chara looked back, trying to seem unaffected by this huge ass frog looming over them, and did the only thing they could think to do - they crossed their eyes, and stuck out their tongue at the frog, making a silly face.

The frog jumped back, creaking in confusion. But then, blinking slowly, it gave what sounded like an understanding hum, nodding. Then, its little shoulders hunched up and it fled, causing Chara to look behind them and see that Asgore was watching the creature disappear with a scolding look on his face.

"Are you alright, child?" he said.

Chara nodded, giving a thumbs up for good measure. As if some weird frog would be able to get the drop on them, psh.

"I am glad to hear it," Asgore said, really seeming like a weight had dropped off his shoulders. "The Final Froggits are not typically violent when not provoked, but I worry. And, you seemed to surprise our friend quite a bit, didn't you? Perhaps that will be good for them!"

Chara beamed, feeling their cheeks heat up a little bit. It wasn't often that someone praised them this much. Mostly because they very rarely deserved it, but Asgore didn't seem to realize that yet so they were just going to keep it to themself for now.

He held onto their hand again, entirely without prompting, and lead them across the spike puzzle, carefully making sure that they were right behind him so that no one would end up getting impaled by spikes today.

Room after room, Chara followed Asgore along. After one incredibly long room with a single pillar at the end, Asgore took a moment to stop.

He knelt down, putting his large paws on their shoulder to make sure that they were paying attention.

"You want to go home, do you not?" he said seriously, keeping his eyes locked with Chara's red gaze in a way that no one had managed before.

Chara hesitated for a second, but nodded. They didn't want to go back, exactly, but they didn't have much of a choice. What else were they going to do? Stay here?

No. They couldn't burden Asgore like that. He was a _good_ person, like Ms. Linda, and he didn't deserve to have to put up with their bullshit.

(Because what else did demon children do besides hurt others? Kill them? Treat them cruelly? That is what demons did. And it's why they deserved to be punished.)

"Then, I must prepare you as best I can," Asgore said, a brief flash of sadness taking over his expression before he got back to business. "I will not be able to help you after you have left the Ruins. I am a wanted man, and having me with you would only bring you more undue attention. Instead, I will give you everything I can to help you survive. And the Ruins are a great place to practice combat, as well. Do you understand?"

Chara thought about the Dummy, briefly, and how that whole encounter had went, before they simply nodded. Asgore wanted them to show mercy, but not be afraid to fight if they had to, so that is what they would do.

"Good." He smiled, patting them gently on the head. "I will follow along with you as you travel through the Ruins, but I will not interfere unless you are in dire straits. Alright? That way, I will be able to know for sure that you are prepared for the rest of the Underground."

Chara nodded firmly, a sense of determination filling them. They didn't want to let him down. They refused to!

Chara marched forward, not breaking stride even when their cheeks flushed with color at hearing Asgore chuckle at their actions quietly. They were going to do this, and it would be totally awesome! No monsters would _dare_ to stand up to Chara!

...

It was not... going entirely to plan. Sure, the monsters weren't exactly beating the shit out of Chara or anything, but they weren't inspiring the kind of awe and fear that they were hoping for.

Whimsalots, little armor-wearing puff balls, were relentless, refusing to stop attacking Chara unless they literally prayed for safety. But Chara couldn't get too mad about it -  the little things were clearly burdened by what they thought was their 'duty' to attack Chara, and always healed any damage that the dealt.

Parsniks were a little disturbing, even for Chara. They were a sort of carrot monster, but with a ton of snakes on their head, like Medusa. They only wanted Chara to eat healthy, though, so if Chara requested a snack from them by patting their stomach and making the sign for *hungry*, the Parsniks would always gleefully throw a bunch of carrots at them before leaving, apparently satisfied with a good day's work.

Migospel looked like those paintings of sad clowns that Chara had seen, and they were always trying to look tough around the other monsters. If Chara managed to convince the other monsters to go away, Migospel would always wander off, not interested in hanging around if there was no one to perform for.

Astigmatism would throw a bunch of orbs around, battering Chara until they either picked on the monster or didn't pick on them, according to their wishes. Chara rather liked those encounters - it wasn't often that they met someone who welcomed bullying.

Moldessa were... saddening, really. They would shy away, always hiding behind the Moldybyggs that often appeared with them. Moldessa had weird faces, with three constantly changing symbols floating around in a pile of goo. The best way to pacify them was to help put their symbols in the order they wanted, thus 'fixing' their faces. The Moldybygg just liked people to respect their boundaries, which Chara could understand, so they always made sure not to crowd the gelatin-like monsters too much.

Their encounters within the Ruins continued on this way, with no real harm done. Chara had even met a ghost!

A pink, vaguely see-through ghost monster that had been monologuing to himself in one of the corridors, clearly attempting to practice for a play of some kind. Chara had wanted to watch, and had clapped when he read a particularly moving line.

...The poor guy had fled immediately upon noticing the two of them watching him, looking horribly embarrassed by the whole thing, though Chara noticed that he had a small smile on his face from their enthusiastic response.

Asgore had said not to worry about it, though. Apparently, Happstablook came to the ruins a lot to practice his parts because he was afraid that the other monsters would make fun of him. Chara hoped that he didn't think they had been mocking him, or anything.

Right past the hall where Napstablook had been, there was a small room with a sign planted right in the middle. Asgore had urged them onwards when they had looked back at him questioningly, so they complied and went to read it.

'Thirsty? Buy some hot chocolate! Hungry? Buy some hot chocolate? Actively dying? BUY SOME HOT CHOCOLATE!!!'

The sign had a number of burns on it, and looked as if it had been written by a child, causing Chara to let out a snort of amusement. One hot chocolate was seven gold, and Chara had been wracking up the coins as they made their way through the cave.

The sign said to drop the coins straight into the fire pit at the very end of the room, so that was what Chara did, dropping 21 gold coins in. It was enough for three hot chocolates, which Chara was very aware of, shooting Asgore a pout when he tried to advise them against it.

Chara liked chocolate, okay??

A bunch of tiny flame creatures had hopped out of the pit and given Chara their drinks, almost making them coo at the cuteness they presented. But they managed to restrain themself, and thanked them heartily in sign, even though they knew that the little guys probably didn't understand.

But one of them, a little bit bigger than the others, gave Chara a thumbs up in return, so they were going to count that as a win.

Finally, after plenty of battles and joking around, trying their best to make Asgore laugh again, they ended up back at his house.

"Please, come inside child," he said, opening the door for them in a grand gesture that made Chara give a soundless giggle.

They went inside, immediately poking around to investigate. They were just looking at his bookcase to see what kind of stuff he was reading (a book about different kinds of tea...?), when they noticed a dusty photo frame, hidden in the corner of the bookcase.

Chara clutched it with their hands, something uneasy rising in their chest. It looked like a family photograph, but it was so aged that they couldn't make out any of the faces.

From the kitchen, Asgore called them in to have some tea, and they went willingly.

But their mind drew them back to that photograph...

Of course Asgore had a family. He was so nice, it would be ridiculous if he didn't.

 _Obviously,_ he would never want them to stick around. Who would want to keep a demon?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chara: everything is awful all the time  
> asgore: *exists*  
> chara: ...okay fine.
> 
> lol, hope you're all enjoying! the last setup chapter with swapfell chara is next, so we'll be moving onto snowdin soon, where we'll get to see how our little friends react to the skelebros! look forward to that! let me know what you think, i love to hear from you. and hey, wanna chat/have a question? hit me up on [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com). love y'all! <3


	4. wash in wisdom-water

Chara stood to the side, passively watching the dodgeball game going on. They'd already been eliminated unfortunately, so they were no longer allowed to actually participate in the game, which was a shame.

Chara liked playing this game. It involved dodging and throwing things at people, which were two activities that Chara was well-versed in. But alas, it was not to be. Not today, anyway.

For some reason, the other kids always tried to get Chara out first, which they liked to take as confirmation of their amazing dodgeball skills, but somewhere deep inside them... They knew that wasn't the reason.

They knew that _mainly_ because the other children would outright tell Chara how creepy they found them, which was a pretty good indicator of why they might not want Chara to play with them. They couldn't just refuse to let Chara participate though, since this was a gym class, not recess, but they could certainly try their hardest to make it difficult for Chara to join in.

The teachers wouldn't do anything. As long as no one was actively dying, they didn't really do much besides keep track of the score.

To be honest, Chara didn't really mind. Sure, they liked gym, and they liked playing in the games, but they didn't like to make people uncomfortable. The problem was, they didn't really know how to stop doing that - not without cutting themself off from human interaction entirely, and that was the opposite of what they wanted!

It was just that... Chara couldn't help what made them different. They couldn't help what made them 'creepy'. They could try and change their attitude about it, of course, but they didn't know how!

The problem, they thought, was that no one else experienced the things that Chara did. No one else knew what it was like to have their parents be hovering over them every second of every day, always inspecting them and prying their mouth open to make sure that they hadn't accidentally bitten off part of their tongue.

That was another big reason that none of the gym teachers were in a hurry to get Chara back into the game - if they ever got hurt, their parents would be absolutely livid.

Not that Chara would _feel_ it, or anything. They just... didn't understand that kind of thing.

What's the difference between something being warm and being burning? What's the difference between cool and freezing? Chara didn't know. They used to put their hands on the stove during the wintertime, because it was always the warmest there, but then their hands would come back horribly burnt.

_Why?_ Why is that?

Logically, Chara knew that the reason was because extreme heat couldn't be handled by the human body - skin wasn't meant to touch something that hot. _Logically,_ they knew that. But it was hard to understand for them. The stove hadn't felt that hot, and Chara didn't even realize they were being burned until they smelled something weird.

That's when their Mummy came in, saw what had happened, and screamed like she was the one getting burned.

That was the point when their parents couldn't ignore it anymore. They'd been able to brush off the bruises and cuts, because children are rambunctious, right? They'd even been able to reason with themselves about the sprained ankle that Chara had limped around on for a week before they thought to mention the swelling to anyone.

But not this. Chara should have known, apparently. Or at least that's what they were told.

_You should have known that would hurt you. You should have known that would cause pain._

_But it didn't,_ was Chara's reply. _It didn't hurt._

It really didn't. Chara tried not to lie, about anything, but especially about things like this. The stove was warm, and it didn't hurt. They didn't understand why everyone was so upset.

They just didn't understand.

_Congenital analgesia,_ the doctor called it. _How very rare. Don't you feel special?_

_Must be kind of nice,_ one of the nurses had whispered to the other, a tad wistfully. _To never know what pain feels like._

So... What is pain, anyways? If Chara couldn't feel it, did it really exist?

That had been one of their theories, in the beginning. That, perhaps, everyone else had something wrong with them. Why would their bodies be designed to give them pain? Pain is something bad, right? Why would anyone want that?

But no, their parents had explained, pain is actually very important. Without pain, you wouldn't be able to tell when something is wrong. Pain is the body's only way of telling you that you are doing something bad, and that you should stop and try something else.

Maybe, Chara thought privately, that meant the reason Chara never felt pain was because they never did anything wrong.

Which was likely untrue, considering how much everyone kept an eye on them, but it might be possible.

Chara liked to think about a lot of things that weren't true, but still possible. Like magic, or monsters, or the perception of pain. They were possible, but they just didn't happen.

At least, not in their experience. If pain is real, why did they never feel it? What did that mean?

Mummy called it their _condition,_ and Daddy called it their _little issue,_ and neither of them called it what it was - a blessing. Chara didn't get distracted by things like pain, and so they were able to accomplish so much more!

How many times had they climbed high, high up in the trees, high enough so that they could see Mt. Ebott in the distance? How many times had they gone on fantastic, dangerous adventures that no one else would dare? Too many times to count!

And they wouldn't be able to do that, if they felt pain. They would be too afraid.

That's the nature of pain, Chara had found. _Fear._

Pain didn't help anyone. It just made them afraid.

Chara was beyond such things. Why be afraid? Even if they were injured, it didn't hurt. There was no point in panicking, no point in crying like so many of their classmates would do.

Why bother? Those things, as far as Chara could reason, didn't actually make the pain go away. They didn't solve anything.

Chara thought about this while watching one of the other kids get carted off the gym floor, clutching their head as they grimaced. They hobbled over to the bleachers, sitting a little bit away from Chara.

Chara observed them, fascinated by the way tears began to leak down their face, and the teacher ran over to console them, telling them that they should head to the nurse's office for some ice.

How strange. Shouldn't they have been able to just brush it off? All they did was get whacked in the head by a ball.

Did that really hurt them?

How... intriguing.

...

Chara waited patiently outside the school, sitting on an old wooden bench. Their backpack was next to them, and they had a library book in hand. It would be a little while until their Daddy would be able to pick them up, since he had to wait until he was out of work, but that was alright.

Chara was well-versed in the act of entertaining themself. They didn't have any friends to hang out with, after all, so they had always made due with books.

It wasn't that Chara was unlikable, or at least they hoped not. They had plenty of acquaintances, people they would talk to in-between classes and the like. There were even some people that found Chara's 'condition' to be really cool!

But they weren't 'hang out after school' friends, which was rather unfortunate. Chara wouldn't have minded getting to know some of those people better, so that they could hang out after school, but no one had seemed very interested in the idea...

Chara, apparently, was better handled when in small doses. They tried not to begrudge others of this fact, but it was a somewhat bitter pill to swallow.

Chara found themself perfectly fine, after all! They knew that sometimes they could say things that others perceived as 'off-putting', but that wasn't their problem. That was the fault of other people for not being able to understand.

It was all quite simple, really. Chara understood life better than others, because they knew what it meant to live without pain. They had a clearer mindset, an easier time understanding the true intentions of others.

Why shouldn't they talk about that? Why shouldn't they embrace it?

Quite honestly, they blamed a great deal of their current isolation on their parents. Before the stove incident, they had never cared what Chara was up to. Chara had wandered around the neighborhood whenever they wanted, doing whatever they wanted, for years. They would sometimes come home a day or two later, covered in so much dirt and grime that Mummy would call them a dirt child.

Now they couldn't even walk to the corner store by themself.

It was so annoying.

Rarely was Chara given the opportunity to go to parties, or school events, or even parades, because who knows what could happen there? You could get hurt, Chara, it isn't safe.

Of course, Chara just had to grit their teeth and bear it. There was no point in bringing up that literally no place was safe, and they could get hurt at any point in their life with no one able to prevent it. That would just make them try and turn Chara into one of those bubble kids that they'd seen on a television special. The ones with incurable diseases.

But Chara wasn't sick. This wasn't an illness, or a disease. It was rather frustrating that no one else seemed to understand that.

Sighing to themself, Chara stood up as their Daddy's car approached, a beat-up old white sedan. It had more dents and scuff marks than Chara ever had, so it mad ether wonder, a little meanly, why they ever let the car leave the garage if they didn't want it to get hurt?

But, whatever. None of that mattered now. It was already way too late to go back to the way things and been before.

They slid into the back seat ("No, Chara, you can't sit in the front! What would happen if we got in an accident?"), made sure to securely buckle their seat belt, and smiled at their Daddy when he glanced back at them.

"Did you buckle up?" he asked, a trace of anxiety on his face - as it always was.

"Yes, Daddy," Chara said obediently.

It didn't matter that they had always been able to buckle their seat belt. It didn't matter that they never needed to be reminded of something like that. Chara had a condition. Chara wasn't capable of taking care of themself.

He smiled back at them, the stress lines making themselves even more obvious, and turned around, starting the car. He drove carefully (always, always so careful) out of the school's parking lot, keeping to the exact posted speed limit and not a mile more.

"Did you have a good day at school?"

Chara's smile widened. They knew what that really meant.

_'Did you get hurt today? Do you break your arm again today? Did you start bleeding from your mouth again today?'_

"It was great!" Chara chirped, exaggerated cheer flowing from them without any real effort. They were a master at this now. "I think I did a really good job on my math test, too! I finished early, and I didn't have to ask for help with any of the questions."

"That's nice, Chara," Daddy said, the tense line of his shoulders relaxing slightly. "What other classes did you have."

"Um... Well, I had math, and science, and english..." Chara tapped their finger on their chin, pretending to have already forgotten what they'd done that day. "Oh! And I also had gym, and chorus."

"Gym, huh?" His voice was purposefully casual, trying not to give anything away. It was a pitiful effort, of course - Chara had long gotten used to reading their parents' voices and expressions without trouble. "How did that go?"

Chara made sure to pout, even going through the effort of crossing their arms over their chest with a huff.

"It was fun in the beginning. We were playing dodgeball, but then I was like, the first person to get out! Then I didn't get to play for the rest of the game. It was really lame..."

He let out a relieved breath, smiling at them through the front mirror. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that, kiddo. I'm sure you'll last longer next time!"

"Next time!" Chara agreed, though they had to lift their hand up to block their sneer. They turned their head, looking out the window in an attempt to distract themself.

All of this was just so pointless, so aggravating. Why did they bother to pretend? Didn't they realize that it was all just a waste?

Honestly, it was just annoying. Chara hated this.

"Is Mummy home?" they asked innocently, tilting their head to the side in question. Inwardly, they hoped that she wasn't. Daddy was bad enough with his constant nervousness and rambling, but Mummy was so overbearing that Chara sometimes wanted to smack her.

"I think so, honey. She had a dentist appointment today, so she got to leave work a bit earlier!" Daddy said excitedly.

That was a lie too. Well, not the dentist appointment, probably, but Daddy's excitement over it. Chara knew that Daddy didn't like it when she was home either. The two of them would fight a lot, in whispered voices as if Chara couldn't hear them just a room away.

Chara thought that their Mummy and Daddy might hate each other. But they kept it together, and pretended in front of Chara so as not to 'cause them any undue stress'.

It might be... admirable, Chara supposed, if they weren't so bad at it. Chara knew that their parents cared about them, even though that care was often overshadowed by their nearly frantic desire to keep them from any kind of harm.

It did make Chara wonder, though, how long that care could possible last. It had been about three years since Chara's 'condition' was discovered, and things had been steadily falling apart ever since.

How much longer would this fragile peace be able to survive?

...

Not long, as it turned out.

"No, you know what? NO! I do so much around this house and you never pitch in, not even a little! And now you expect me to - "

"I have a damn work meeting, what do you want from me? You want me to leave early, get in trouble with my boss, maybe even lose my job? We can't afford that! And I do plenty of things around the house - !"

Chara sighed, rolling their eyes. They flipped to the next page in their book, studiously ignoring the screaming match happening in the kitchen. This wasn't the first time they'd had arguments like this, but it was the first time it had escalated so badly.

Was it wrong of Chara to find this all just a little bit funny? Here they were, so concerned with keeping Chara happy and healthy that they trapped themselves in a loveless marriage and an entirely unhappy home life. In all honesty, Chara would likely be better off just living by themself. At least no one would inspect their mouth daily or start screaming insults at each other. Both parties would be happy.

Isn't that what people should want? To be happy?

"I can't stand this anymore - "

"God, I fucking _hate_ \- "

Yes, people want to be happy. It appeared to be in their nature, that desire to have something to call their own, something that would bring them satisfaction at the very least.

But, you see, eventually everyone is given a choice. They are given the choice between what makes them happy, and what will keep them alive.

Where, Chara wondered, did they fall on that side of the equation for their parents? They certainly didn't seem to be happy.

So what to do...?

Perhaps they would leave. Just for a little bit. Maybe that would scare their parents into letting up some, especially if they explained afterwards that they were 'trying to make Mummy and Daddy happy so that they wouldn't argue so much', or some other ridiculous excuse.

As if Chara had ever cared about their parents' bickering. The only reason they even paid it any attention was because they were able to accurately use it to predict their parents' moods. But it would be a good ploy. People just ate up that kind of drama.

Still, their decision was made. They would 'run away' for a little while - a day at most, and give these idiots a good scare. That would teach them.

Chara stood up, carefully placing their library book on the living room table. Still ignoring the yelling from the room over, they pondered what they should bring with them. Not much, obviously. They didn't want this to seem like it had been planned in advance, after all. They wanted this to have the spontaneous aura of a child, someone who hadn't actually thought through their plan and was just going with what their instincts told them.

No bag, then. And no food either, considering that Mummy and Daddy were currently arguing in the kitchen.

Chara's hand hovered over their golden locket, considering whether or not to bring it with them. Yes, they would. They had worn the locket since the first day they got it (stolen from a flea market several years ago), so it wouldn't make sense to leave it behind now.

And it had nothing to do with the fact that Chara used it as a comfort item. None at all. That would be pathetic, and childish. Chara was better than that.

The only other thing they would bring was one of their gardening tools. A small knife, perfect for cutting plants and vines. It was not, perhaps, what a typical child would grab when they were running away from home, but Chara was practical, if nothing else.

They needed to have something to protect themself, though it hopefully would not come to that. Chara wasn't really one for violence - it was always too much of a hassle, in their opinion. If anyone got hurt, even if Chara wasn't involved, their parents would fuss and needle them constantly for the next month.

It was easier to run away from conflict, to pretend that it hadn't happened. At least that way, Chara wouldn't get hurt and their parents would leave them alone for once.

So, knife in hand, Chara slipped out of the house's side door, giving no attention to the screaming match still happening within.

...

Now, here was the real question - where to go? Their first thought had been the river, of course. No one ever wanted to go down there, because the water was full of trash and always smelled gross. Chara liked to explore there a lot when they were younger, but then their 'condition' had come to light, and their parents had forbidden them from going to that area anymore.

_You could get cut, Chara! You could get hurt!_

Chara scoffed, running their thumb over the handle of their knife. Please. Chara wasn't stupid, it wasn't like they were going to eat a hunk of plastic or something.

But then again, that would be the first place they would look, because they were aware of Chara's fondness for the area. What was their next best option?

Chara's eyes scanned the horizon dully, not truly paying attention, and accidentally glanced at the obvious answer - Mt. Ebott.

The cursed mountain, where children went to disappear. _Perfect._

How utterly poetic! It had just the amount of dramatics that Chara was looking for, and without the obviousness of the swamp. Chara had never really been interested in the mountain, after all, or its many ghost stories.

Ghost stories were only told to make people afraid, and Chara didn't do that.

"Mt. Ebott it is, then," Chara said to themself cheerfully. What a wonderful adventure this would be! And a useful one, if everything went to plan.

They hummed to themself as they made their way up the path to Mt. Ebott. The actual mountain itself had been blocked off, thanks to all of the whispers around town of a 'strangeness' and a curse being placed on the mountain.

Chara didn't believe in such things, of course. Monsters, hidden deep within a mountain? Please. If that were real, why hadn't they emerged yet? Why would they possibly want to stay within Mt. Ebott when there was an entire world of foolish humans out here practically begging to get murdered?

Logically, it just didn't make sense, so Chara couldn't believe it. Sometimes, they wanted to. They wanted to believe in a world where magic existed, where happy endings always came true, where you could be anything if you just tried.

But that world didn't exist, and Chara was never one to waste their time on impossible dreams.

So, further up the mountain they went, following overgrown paths that seemed to have once belonged to a nature trail. No one had used it in some time, clearly, but Chara was certainly able to take advantage of it now.

Eventually, they reached a large cave entrance that looked like the perfect place to hole up for the night. They would wander back down the mountain tomorrow morning, crying and begging to go home. That would certainly make a statement, wouldn't it?

Yes, the perfect plan. Nothing would go wrong. Absolutely nothing...

Chara inched into the cave, trying not to wrinkle their nose at all the dirt and insects crawling around. That was the price they would have to pay for this plan to work. Sacrifices must be made.

At one point, however, Chara caught sight of a centipede of all things trying to crawl on their sweater, and they did not approve of that at all, so -

Naturally, they flailed around (in a very graceful manner) to get it off, and naturally they took a big step backwards, and naturally -

they

_f e l l . . ._

...

Chara woke up in the void.

Or at least, it seemed that way. There was no light anywhere, darkness surrounding them completely. And yet somehow, Chara was still able to see. They saw a person laying on the ground next to them, seemingly unconscious.

This person looked exactly like Chara.

Was this what people called an out-of-body experience? Chara wondered, tapping their chin in thought. Were they in a coma, and this is what happened to the human consciousness when it was traced in that state of mind?

If so, that would be very... unfortunate. If Chara had truly fallen down the mountain like they suspected, and then proceeded to fall into some sort of coma, then it was unlikely that help would come in time to save them.

That was not part of their plan, and it was actually a bit annoying.

Chara reached out, intending to see if they could rouse the body that might be theirs, but then the body began to move on its own.

Hm. Maybe not theirs, then?

This Other-Chara sat up, a deep scowl on their face as they rubbed their eyes. Chara watched as their eyes darted around, trying to figure out what was going on, most likely, and experienced a vague sense of amusement when their eyes finally landed on Chara, and they scrambled away with a terrified expression.

Chara could only smile. How amusing.

"Greetings," they said cheerfully, taking pride in the way the other's expression twisted in something like disgust. "My name is Chara. Who might you be?"

*Chara,* the other signed, just like Chara had expected them to. Well, not the signing perhaps, but they had expected the name. What a fascinating development! Good thing they had taken those sign language classes with Ms. Linda instead of doing Spanish like every other kid. They were certainly paying off now. *I'm Chara. How can you be Chara? What the hell is going on?*

"Something to do with magic, I would guess," Chara said nonchalantly. Like this sort of thing happened to them every day.

They could tell that their counterpart had an attitude problem, and nothing made Chara happier than to mess with people, so this would no doubt be the start of a wonderful relationship.

*Don't bullshit me!* the child signed, an expression of absolute fury on their face. It was almost enough for Chara to break their facade and start laughing. *What, you think you can get one over on the dumb mute kid or something? Fuck you!*

"My, my, you do have a temper, don't you," Chara said, deliberately keeping their tone light and unbothered. "What else could this be, really? We went into a mountain which no one returns from, and now we're here. Magic seems like a rather obvious solution, doesn't it?"

Of course it didn't. This was clearly all some kind of fever dream that Chara was experiencing while their body laid in a crumpled heap at the bottom of a mountain. But this other version of themself was so expressive and utterly delightful, Chara couldn't help themself!

They intended to tease their counterpart a little bit more, but before they could, the other Chara seemed to catch sight of something. Chara followed their gaze, glancing at two more children that were sitting a small distance away.

Chara hadn't noticed them at all, before. How strange...

They weren't more doppelgängers, though. They looked almost the same - like off-color copies, maybe. They both had different colored sweaters, with slightly different designs, and had skin and hair that was several shades darker than Chara's own.

Hm... What could be the connection, then? What were these two supposed to represent?

Other-Chara seemed quite eager to find out, because they stomped over to where the two were sitting with some kind of explosive rage bubbling inside of them.

Chara could see it, easily. It was a lot like the way Mummy acted when she was mad, honestly. Except it wasn't very intimidating on this small child - more like a wet kitten than anything else.

One of the other children was trying to figure out what was going on, asking if it was perhaps a dream of some kind, which seemed to make Other-Chara very, very unhappy.

*If this is a dream,* they signed, after having shoved one of the kids away. *Then I am going to make sure that we n e v e r wake up.*

Chara watched, unblinking, as the Other-Chara drew out a knife that was identical to their own and made as if to strike the child -

Only to land on empty air.

Chara raised a brow, intrigued by this development. It looked like some kind of portal had opened up beneath the other, allowing them to escape this place unharmed. But how? What had caused it?

And could Chara possibly recreate it?

"My, how interesting," Chara said, placing their hand on their chin as they thought through what they had just witnessed. "It seems your violent intent caused them to vanish, Chara. Probably for the best, that."

Chara didn't think it would be a good sign for their psyche if they saw their alternate self stab a child. That seemed like the kind of thing that Mummy and Daddy might disapprove of.

*Don't you fucking patronize me - *

"W-What?" the other child said suddenly, sitting up and looking a bit to the left of them. Ah, blindness. That would explain why the child hadn't really reacted to the sight of a knife. "Violent intent? What did you do to them?"

*The same thing I'm gonna do to you,* Other-Chara signed, before looking almost startled at their own behavior.

Their counterpart was clearly very emotionally unstable. They appeared to be used to violence and causing harm to others, but when it actually happened they would shy away like a wounded animal. Perhaps this was meant to be a reflection of Chara's subconscious desires?

...They hoped not. Chara had never thought of themself as quite that volatile. Regardless, they still translated for the blind child, who obviously hadn't seen Other-Chara's signing.

"The same thing I'm gonna do to you," Chara reported, feeling the corner of their lips twitch up in the slightest hint of a smirk. This was all just so fascinating. And hilarious. Chara hadn't gotten so much free entertainment in ages! "That's what my companion signed, anyway. I would run, if I were you."

Chara wanted to see if they would make it. They wanted to see if Other-Chara would try to follow through with their threat, they wanted to see what would _happen_ -

Ahem. Chara was snapped out of their thoughts when their companion shoved them, knocking them back a step.

Other-Chara reached out to the child that had only just began to struggle to their feet, but once again their efforts were for naught. The child vanished through the floor, disappearing just like the other one.

But... the circumstances hadn't quite been the same, had they? There was no active threat right now...

Actually, the other child hadn't known that, had they? So perhaps it was fear for one's life that allowed them to leave this wretched place. If that was the case, then Chara might have a plan...

"Ah," Chara said, reaching out to pat the one remaining child on the shoulder, ignoring the way they snarled at Chara for the action. "Unfortunate. You didn't manage to catch their names, did you?"

Other-Chara sneered at them, taking a step back so that they weren't so close. Chara got the feeling that they were being a little vulnerable after such a stunt, and they didn't want Chara to know. Ha, as if they would ever be able to hide it from Chara - they were practically an open book.

*No. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you,* they signed, still stubborn despite everything. Wouldn't it be easier for them to just go along with it? Why did they struggle so much? What drove them to act in such an impatient, frenzied manner?

...Were they really part of Chara's subconscious? They were beginning to doubt it. No part of Chara would act like this. Chara was better than that.

Perhaps they should be taking magic into consideration after all.

Well, none of that mattered now. What mattered was getting out of here, and Chara thought that they might just have the solution.

"That's fair," Chara said, smiling at their counterpart. "Now, would you mind trying to kill me?"

That's what had allowed the other two to escape, right? So that meant that if Chara was to experience the same thing, they might be able to escape this place for good. Or get dragged to hell, depending on whether or not they were really dead.

They sure hoped not.

*What the hell,* Other-Chara signed, a strange expression on their face that Chara couldn't quite interpret.

"Well, it seems that you attempting to hurt the others was enough to make them vanish," Chara pointed out, trying their best to seem utterly calm and unaffected. "I don't particularly wish to stay here for the rest of my life, if it's all the same to you."

*Y'know what? Fine. Fine!* Other-Chara signed, apparently having lost their last thread of sanity. They pulled out their knife again and charged forward, aiming for Chara's face. *Remember, you asked for this!*

Oh, how terrifying. Chara was just shaking in their boots. _Not._

And just as they had suspected, the child stopped right before they could actually break Chara's skin, the knife halting an inch away from their forehead. Wow. How pathetic.

They really did see this coming. Other-Chara had a lot of anger, but that was about it. No drive, no desire. If they ever actually managed to hit someone with that knife, it would probably be an accident. Still, they were a bit disappointed. So much for that plan, huh?

Well, maybe they could still find a way to make it work...

"Really?" they said mockingly, trying to draw forth that anger they had seen before. "After all of your bravado, this is all you're capable of? My, my... Perhaps I overestimated you, other me."

And for a moment, it seemed like it was going to work. Other-Chara's face burned a bright red mix of embarrassment and rage, and they drew their knife back to strike - !

And then didn't. Instead, they began laughing.

Or, at least, that's what Chara thought they were doing. They were wheezing, practically bent in half from the force of their movements, as they were apparently falling into hysterics, Chara caught sight of a splash of color on their neck.

It was... It was a _scar._ A deep, ugly thing that tore into their neck. Chara's grin fell at the discovery, suddenly finding themself a bit unnerved. That sort of thing could not be described as an accident. Someone had tried to _kill_ this child. Someone had tried to slice open their neck and failed in what must have been a horrific and painful manner.

Chara's shoulders hunched up for a moment, before they were able to forcibly calm themself. This child _wasn't_ them. No way.

Chara would never let something like that happen to them, would never let someone take away their power like that. In a world where anything a child does is useless, the only weapon they have is their voice!

No, Chara would rather die than be a silent doll for their parents to arrange how they saw fit. Chara's only rebellion was in their speech. They would rather _die._

*Please...* the other signed with a smug smirk, having already tucked their knife away. *Do you really think I'm that much of an idiot? Fuck off, jackass. I'm not gonna get goaded into doing what you want. I'm no fucking puppet.*

Damn it.

Chara's smile twitched, trying not to let on that they had totally been attempting to use their companion.

"You misunderstand me," Chara managed to get out between gritted teeth, barely resisting the urge to snarl. "I merely thought that it would be a good idea to get out of here. Don't you find this place boring?"

Other-Chara shrugged, still with that smug expression on their face, like they had everything figured out. Chara wanted to smack that look right off their face.

*Yeah, sure,* Other-Chara admitted, giving a little shrug. *But I don't see how getting you out of here helps me.*

Fuck. Chara was actually hoping that they wouldn't pick up on that bit. To be honest, even if they had managed to get out of here with their help, they had no idea what would happen to the other child. If they weren't a figment of Chara's imagination, did that mean that they would be trapped here forever?

Truth be told, Chara didn't care much. But they still didn't like to be called out on it.

"...It would not," they said finally, resisting the urge to cross their arms over their chest and pout like a child.

*Exactly,* Other-Chara said, grinning meanly. *So how about you just fuck off, okay?*

Chara was just about to shoot back a (very intelligent and mature) retort, when the other child suddenly vanished through the floor - though not without giving Chara one final smug look as they did so.

Damn it. Fuck.

This was going to be harder than they thought it would. _Fuck._

How did those other idiots do it? It couldn't have been out of fear for their lives, as Chara had first suspected. Other-Chara had proved quite splendidly that it wasn't a requirement, if their smugness was any indication.

Suddenly, Chara was regretting teasing them so much. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, and it was also very funny, but now it wasn't shaping up to be doing them any favors.

Curse Chara's trickster personality and unpredictability! They even managed to catch themself off-guard sometimes, and they were beginning to see why people might not appreciate that.

So how the heck were they supposed to get out of here now? What was the objective, what was the thing they needed to do to make this work?

"I want to leave," they said out loud.

Nothing.

"I would appreciate being able to leave at this time, please," Chara tried, going for a more polite approach in the hopes that whatever entity that controlled this place would be impressed by their manners.

Still nothing.

"Let me out! I won't be trapped here forever, you can't keep me!" Chara shouted in frustration, deciding to switch tracks completely.

Wow! Even more nothing.

Chara was about ready to stab something at this point. Was this what their counterpart had been feeling this whole time? Because if so, Chara now regretted making fun of them. This sucked.

"Please... Please let me go. I can't stay here, please," Chara said, finally letting their vulnerability show. They couldn't stay here. Not when they still had so much to do!

Chara had to trick their parents still, they had a math test in two days, they had a library book to finish! It was due in less than a week, and Chara was not going to be stuck with any charges on that! They refused!

And so, it was to that feeling bubbling up inside them - I refuse, I refuse, I refuse, I will go on and you can't stop me - that the ground opened up beneath Chara's feet, and into the darkness they

_f e l l ._

...

"Oh no, oh no, please wake up! Please wake up! We have to go!"

Chara groaned, trying to swat away whoever was badgering them so early in the morning. That didn't sound like Mummy or Daddy...

Suddenly, they shot straight up, their memories coming back to them in a flash. Right - they'd been carrying out their magnificent and fool-proof plan, only to fall down the mountain due to a cruel work of sabotage!

And where were they now...?

"Oh god, finally!" that same voice spoke. "Hurry up, we have to get moving!"

Chara looked down, and stared. The voice had come from a ratty plush toy, something that looked like it had once been soft and luxurious, but had been worn away by the passage of time. The little thing was shaking like a Chihuahua, and their eyes were darting around every which way, on the lookout for predators.

"I'm... sorry?" Chara said, still a bit stunned at this revelation. Were the legends true after all, and monsters really did exist within the mountain? Or was this still some kind of fever dream?

Even though Chara desperately wished it was the latter, they were getting the feeling that they weren't so lucky.

"We need to get moving!" they repeated, reaching out with one of their weird, stubby paws to try and drag Chara forward. "He'll probably be here any second now, so please hurry!"

Biting their lip against the millions of questions that they wanted to ask, Chara did as was asked of them, getting to their feet and following as the plush toy directed them in where to go.

"I know that this is the route he takes, so we should be able to hide around the corner," the thing muttered, seeing almost as if they were talking to themself.

The monster(?) was so busy peeking through the doorway, they didn't seem to hear the footsteps. But Chara most certainly did - harsh stomping, with the sound of some kind of fabric being dragged behind it.

They grabbed the small creature, covering their sewn-on mouth with their hand, shushing them quietly as Chara ducked behind a pillar.

The sound got closer and closer, close enough that the stuffed toy in Chara's grasp could hear it too, and promptly shut up.

The two held their breath as they saw a shadow coming closer, the sound of heavy breathing being heard from just around the corner.

Chara saw him, then.

A _monster._

It was a tall creature, with the curled horns of a devil pointing back towards his skull. His fur was an off-white color, as if he was covered in a layer of dust. He had a long beard, tangled up and in terrible condition. Chara could see some signs of lighter color peeking out, as if his hair had once been a bright shade of gold, but it had become blackened with soot and something else that Chara couldn't quite identify.

The plush toy was shivering against Chara's chest, trying to tuck their head closer in so that they could hide within Chara's embrace.

Chara got the feeling that they didn't want to catch the attention of this other monster with fierce red eyes and huge, sharpened fangs, so they held their breath, trying to stay as silent as possible.

His eyes swept his surroundings, searching for something with a relentless gaze. When he turned to look in their direction, Chara squeezed their eyes shut and kept as still as they could, trying to subscribe to the old adage of; 'I don't see you, you don't see me'.

For a moment, when his stare lingered on their location, Chara thought they'd been found out. But after a moment, he looked away, and soon lumbered on, seemingly heading for the large flower patch where Chara had woken up.

There was a few minutes of silence, both children still too stiff to start moving just yet, and then both of them let out a heavy sigh.

"Thanks for grabbing me," the little monster said, once Chara had carefully put them back on the ground. "I just got so nervous that I didn't even hear him coming. We'll be safe for now, he always stays at the flowers for at least a few hours. Um, I'm Temmie, by the way."

Chara only nodded dully, holding one hand to their chest. What... What was that?

Was that fear?

Ridiculous. Chara had no reason to fear the creatures here, no matter how intimidating their appearances may be. Chara could feel no pain. Chara would never be hurt, even if they died.

Even if they died.

Chara's body gave an uncontrollable shudder, but they managed to move past it quickly enough. They gave Temmie a wan smile, trying to bring themself back under control.

"Salutations, Temmie," they said. "My name is Chara. Would you mind explaining some more to me about this place?"

"Oh, um, sure thing!" Temmie said, smiling back, though with a bit of hesitancy. "This is the Underground, the place where the Kingdom of Monsters resides! Everyone here is pretty friendly, and even though they dislike humans they probably won't go out of their way to attack you... Is what I _would_ have said, if you'd fallen down here a few centuries ago. Now, things have changed in a major way."

"I can see that," Chara said, thinking about that horned monster that had passed them by. They didn't think they would ever be able to describe him as 'friendly'.

"The guy that we were hiding from is Asgore. He used to be the King, but after he got into a huge fight with his wife, the Queen, he left the castle and came here, to the Ruins. He tried to protect the humans that came through here, but it wasn't enough. They always died. In the end, he went mad. If he sees any humans now, or anything he thinks is a human, he'll attack them."

Chara got the feeling that Temmie knew that from experience.

They frowned, tapping their chin with their pointer finger as they tried to figure this out. A fallen king, lost to madness... A cave full of monsters, all eager to murder human children...

_Why,_ though? Was it simply because of an intrusion into their territory? Were the monsters trying to defend their land, or something similar?

Ha... Did it really matter what their reasoning was? Murdering children had absolutely no excuse.

Chara wasn't bothered by many things, but something like this was just so stupid. What right did monsters have to take a life? What right did anyone have to do such a thing?

They clenched their fist, firming their resolve. They would not let this stand, not from _anyone._ If this wasn't some kind of strange fever dream, then that meant that Chara was involved with this world now, whether they liked it or not.

And no monster was going to stand in their way.

…

"Let me lead, okay?" Temmie whispered, peeking around the corner. "Asgore isn't the only monster in the Ruins, and the others are just as likely to try and kill us."

Chara followed along obediently, but they had some questions of their own.

"There are other monsters, then? Violent?"

"Very," Temmie grimaced. "Some are worse than others, but pretty much everyone is pissed off and ready to kill."

"Ah..." Chara said, rubbing their arm a little awkwardly. Would it be appropriate to ask why Temmie was different? They had to. Otherwise, they could be walking straight into a trap! And Chara was the one who made traps around here, not some puny furball. "And why, may I ask, do you seem so different from them? You attempted to help me before I had ever even spoken to you. Why is that?"

"I..." Temmie trailed off, hunching their little shoulders. "I guess it's penance, really. I had a large part in why this world turned out the way it did. I have to make up for it."

"The way this world turned out?" Chara blinked, turning their head to the side. "I assume you are referring to the sudden increase in violent intent, yes?"

"Yeah," Temmie nodded glumly, their entire body language screaming of shame. "It's... it's all my fault. I tried, but... I wasn't strong enough. I'll be honest with you, uh - sorry, what's your name?"

"Chara," they supplied, prompting them to continue with their story.

"Right. I'll be honest, Chara. I've never been strong enough. Not strong enough to stop Asgore or Toriel, not strong enough to help any of the monsters, and certainly not strong enough to help any humans who fall down here. I want to, but I've never been enough. Okay? I just want you to understand that, before we get any further."

There was a beat of silence. Temmie seemed to be waiting for the human child to condemn them, call them horrible or something like that. Chara huffed out a laugh, poking Temmie gently on the head, making them let out a surprised yelp.

"I already figured that out the first second I met you, tiny," they said, smirking at the toy's betrayed look. "But that's not my problem. I would like you to help me, and I can help myself. So don't worry about protecting me. If all you do is tell me where to go, I'll count that as a job well done."

Temmie teared up, their lower lip quivering. "R-Really?"

Chara smiled - a real one, this time.

"Really," they assured Temmie, patting them on the back. "Any help you could give me would be great, but my safety is my own responsibility. If I end up getting killed, I'll know that it was my fault. Deal?"

"That deal kind of seems like it benefits me more..." Temmie said with uncertainty, making Chara laugh at the care they were showing.

Why would that bother them? Wouldn't they want to take advantage of it?

"Of course. Be happy, little one. I'm letting you take the advantage here."

"I'm not that little!" Temmie protested, straining to stand up on their back two legs and gain some height. It only got them up to Chara's waist, pretty much proving their point.

"I know, I know," Chara said soothingly, patting Temmie's head. "You're very big and tough. I'll be relying on you, okay?"

Temmie leaned into the caress, seemingly without their control, and grinned up at Chara. "Alright! I'll do my best!"

The two children ventured further and further into the Ruins, dodging any of the other monsters they came across.

There was a lot of small winged creatures floating around, wearing what looked like sets of dusty armor. They would carry a lance in hand, and sometimes they would start shouting about sinners and the weight of the world, angrily attacking anything that came near them. Temmie said that they were called Whimsalots, and cautioned Chara to stay away. Apparently, they had a tendency to attack first and ask questions never, just like most of the monster population.

Chara also saw a large number of frog monsters wearing pointy crowns, all hopping around and baring their fangs. They were called Final Froggits, and they fought with the Whimsalots all the time, trying to snag them out of the air and close their jaws around them.

There was a lot of that in the Ruins - monsters taking their anger out on each other, turf wars and rivalries between groups. Chara didn't think it was entirely hopeless, however.

"Careful," Temmie hissed, nodding to what looked like a pile of gelatin on the ground. "That's a Moldbygg. They like to pretend to be harmless to lure you in, and then they pop out and grab you! Not something you wanna deal with, trust me. And besides, where there's Moldbygg, a Moldessa is never far behind."

Chara blinked, examining the thing from afar. They didn't see anything strange about it, but perhaps that was the point.

"Why would Moldessa be nearby?" they asked curiously. "Do the two groups work together, or something?"

Temmie shrugged. "They're family. You don't mess with your own family - they're the only allies you have."

Chara's expression went blank as they pondered this. Really? Family was seen as the go-to ally here?

Humans weren't like that at all. Sure, one always hoped that they would be able to go to their family for assistance or support, but in Chara's experience, all they did was make it more difficult. Better to reach out to someone who didn't know you as well, who didn't care as much.

The help they give you may not be perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better than dealing with that other bullshit.

Still, this was a perfect opportunity.

"Does..." Chara bit their lower lip, making sure to keep their expression vulnerable and open as Temmie glanced up at them. "Does that make us family? Since we're allies, and all."

The fabric of Temmie's face turned a deep red, and they beamed up at Chara.

"Sure! I, I would love that!" they chirped, looking so absolutely thrilled that it actually caught Chara off-guard.

They could feel their own cheeks warming at the genuine response, not having expected Temmie to react so favorably. Suddenly, the whole thing felt like less of a gag, and more like a real request.

Chara... really wasn't sure how they felt about that. So they decided to ignore it as best they could, giving Temmie a shaky smile as they headed onwards.

They dodged a few more monsters as they went deeper, one that looked kind of like a carrot with snakes for hair, and one that seemed like it had a giant eye, before it would open its mouth to reveal that the 'eye' was actually just rows of deadly teeth.

All in all, Chara was having a grand old time. How many people could say that they had met monsters, that they had traveled in an underground civilization with a talking plush toy? Not many!

This was the life.

And just a little bit later, it got even better.

Chara was walking down a dark hallway, Temmie at their side, when they heard the low, mournful sound of someone singing a lullaby.

"Oh my love... please run away..."

Chara came to a stop, instinctively hiding behind the doorway as they looked to Temmie for direction.

"It's okay," Temmie whispered. "It's just Happstablook. He's a little gloomy sometimes, but he won't hurt you. He actually really likes humans!"

Chara brightened, and then walked through the door to see what looked like a bright pink ghost floating up near the ceiling, still singing his song.

"Monster queen... won't let you stay..."

"Happy! I'm here with a new friend!"

The ghost turned to look down at the two children. "Oh... A human!"

He swooped down, hovering only an inch away from Chara's face.

"Hello, gorgeous! How are you doing on this lovely day?" he said cheerfully, drawing a smile to Chara's face against their will.

"Well, taking everything into consideration, I would say that I'm doing quite well," Chara said, chuckling. "And you?"

"Oh, wonderful, darling," he flashed them a winning smile, and Charm felt their face flush. "And I'm even better now that you're here!"

This ghost was too smooth!

"Happy is a ghost monster, so normal attacks don't really affect him," Temmie explained, swiping a paw straight through Happstablook as a demonstration.

"Indeed!" Happstablook said, leaning away to allow Chara their space. "That allows me to live a better life than a lot of these saddening creatures. I used to come here to visit my cousin, Madstablook, but after a bad experience with Asgore, they fled somewhere into the Dump, the poor thing. Now, I just come here to get some more practice time in. The monsters here already know not to bother me, so I'm quite safe."

"That's a stroke of luck," Chara said, raising a brow. "How did your cousin have trouble, then?"

"Oh, Maddy is in a physical form now, after they possessed a training dummy. That means they can be attacked just like any other monster," Happstablook sighed, looking genuinely put-down by the prospect. "I really wanted a physical body too, at one point, especially since I'm now the only one in my family who doesn't, but it's just not safe."

Chara frowned, tapping their finger against their chin as they tried to think of a solution. But... nothing came. They honestly didn't know what to do here. Was there anything they could do here?

Well... they might as well ask.

"Is there some way I could help you?" they said bluntly, not at all bothered by the way both Temmie and Happstablook turned to look at them in surprise. "I don't know much about ghosts, or monsters, or _anything,_ it seems, but I would like to help."

"You... You've certainly picked up a rare one, haven't you, Temmie?" the ghost said quietly, looking at Chara with something uncomfortably similar to awe.

Temmie nodded in agreement, but Chara grimaced, holding up their hand to stop this nonsense before it got too far.

"You think too highly of me," they said, in an almost scolding tone. "This offer... it really has nothing to do with me, and shows nothing of my virtues. I would not have offered to help if I found you to be a disagreeable person, Happstablook. My offer is more a reflection of your own good nature than it is mine."

Happstablook laughed, tossing his little fringe of pink hair back. He and Temmie shared a look, some secret joke passing between them.

"Oh, you can say that all you like, darling. But it doesn't detract from the bravery and kindness needed to give such an offer in the first place," he said, wagging his finger at them.

Chara scowled, unable to come up with a retort. They knew that it wasn't true, whatever these two were trying to say, but they didn't quite know how to prove it...

"Just accept the compliment, dude!" Temmie said, shoving them lightly. "And come on, we should get moving. We don't wanna get caught by Asgore any time soon."

Chara sighed, finding themself genuinely regretful that they were leaving Happstablook's presence so soon. Considering that he was the first monster besides Temmie to not immediately attempt to murder them on sight, they thought they could be allowed that much.

"What a shame," Happstablook pouted, floating over and attempting to pat Chara on the head. His arm went right through them, of course, but they appreciated the effort anyway. "You'll have to visit my house in Waterfall, darling. I can show you how I really shine, there!"

Chara grinned, giving a little bow.

"I look forward to it, Happstablook. And..." they hesitated for a moment, but plowed onward, not allowing themself any regret on this. "I meant it. My offer. If there is anything that I can do to help you, I will try my best to accomplish it."

Happstablook's whole body softened, becoming more of a pastel color than the neon pink it had been before.

"I'll keep that in mind, darling. Take care of yourself. And you too, Temmie!"

The two kids waved as Happstablook floated through the ceiling, disappearing further into the Underground.

"He's nice," Chara commented, moving through the hallway.

"Yeah, he is," Temmie said, plodding along beside them. "One of the only ones, unfortunately. Most of his cousins are okay too, but they'll probably attack you, since you're a human. Happstablook has no real reason to attack you, so he won't. He's always been fond of human movies and stuff, and I think you really won him over! Nice work, Chara. It'll be good to have more allies on our side."

Chara blinked. "Ah, yes. Of course."

Honestly, they hadn't even been thinking about it. Which was... out of character, for them. Chara liked to manipulate people, liked to trick them into doing exactly what Chara wanted. To have apparently done it by accident was a strange thing.

"Let's just grab some hot chocolate here real quick, then we can move on," Temmie said, gesturing to a side door that Chara initially hadn't noticed.

"Hot... chocolate?" Chara said, their eyes practically sparkling with excitement. They ran ahead, beating Temmie into the room.

There was a fire pit by the back, and a sign stating how much gold each of the items for sale were. Which were... apparently all hot chocolate. That didn't bother Chara any, though, and they happily bought four hot chocolates, intending to allow Temmie to have... one.

After that, Chara and Temmie kept traveling, eventually reaching the end of the Ruins.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do," Temmie said, directing Chara to a quaint little house by a large tree. "This is Asgore's place, and the exit to Snowdin is in the basement. He always locks up the stairs so that no one can get out, but I know where the two keys are. Follow me!"

Temmie led them inside, first going to the kitchen to grab one key that was hidden in a high up cabinet. As Temmie was cursing and stretching their arms out to grab the key, Chara curiously looked around. There was a pot of tea on the stove, a cup of which Chara happily took, filling one of the empty hot chocolate cups with it.

They took a small sip, sighing as the flavor hit them. They couldn't quite identify it, but it was certainly lovely.

"Got it!" Temmie said, hopping down from the counter. "Now come on, the other key is in the hall by the bedrooms!"

Chara followed obediently, but they couldn't help the way that their eyes wandered. This place was clearly well-loved, and must have once been a wonderful home. But now... Now, there was only signs of destruction and pain. Asgore must have suffered quite a bit, after escaping his kingdom to wander the Ruins alone.

Chara couldn’t feel too bad for him, considering that Temmie was quite sure that he would attempt to murder them both on sight, but their gaze still caught on the torn and burnt family photos, for just a second.

“Right… here!” Temmie huffed out, having grabbed the second key out of the drawer. “Now let’s hurry, before Asgore… gets…”

“Oh dear,” Chara said, recognizing the look on Temmie’s face easily. “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”

A harsh breath blown against the top of their head answered that question.

“Children…” Asgore’s deep voice rumbled from behind Chara. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you that it isn’t polite to steal from an angry monster?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> temmie: don't worry, i'll keep you safe!  
> chara: i'm not worried
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying! please feel free to lemme know what you think, and if you have a question/just wanna chat, hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! thanks for reading, love y'all <3


	5. so you will have no regrets

Frisk scurried after Toriel, nervously wringing their hands. They didn't want to make her angry, really! But they couldn't stay here. They had to get back to Mother!

Toriel didn't allow herself to be affected by Frisk's pleading looks. She just kept walking, striding down the long hallway without looking back.

Biting their lip, Frisk could do nothing except follow. The hallway was dark, and Frisk could only see where they were going by the small spark of fire that Toriel had summoned in her hand. Did it really have to go this way? Surely, if Toriel could just _wait_ for a moment, wait and let Frisk explain, then she would understand -

But it was not to be. The two of them, monster and child, reached the end of the hall within minutes, a large imposing purple door with that same strange symbol on it. There was two lit torches on either side of the door, giving the whole room an eerie glow.

Toriel turned to stare down at Frisk, a glint of unbending steel in her eyes.

"This is the door to exit the Ruins," she said, standing tall and forcing Frisk to crane their neck up to look at her. "Once you leave through here... I will not be able to protect you. And the monsters outside of this place will _kill_ you, child. They will not bother with mercy. They will not think of you as a living being, someone worthy of protection. They will think of you as an enemy. Do you understand?"

Frisk frowned, but nodded anyway. They didn't really understand why - hadn't Toriel said that most monsters didn't really want to hurt them? But they knew what it was to be hated. They knew what it meant, when someone wished them dead.

Frisk could handle it. They would convince the monsters that they were wrong, become friends with everyone, and help their Mother, no problem!

Planting their fists on their hips in a determined pose, Frisk refused to back down, even when Toriel scowled at them threateningly.

"Fine, then!" she snapped. Toriel raised her hands, and they became wreathed with that same orange fire. "If you want to leave so badly, you must prove yourself to me! _Prove_ that you are strong enough to survive!"

Frisk squared their shoulders, tilted their chin up with a stubborn expression, and stood their ground.

And then the first wave of fire hit them.

From that second on, it was a race against the clock, trying to dodge as many of Toriel's fire blasts as they could. Every time they got hit, they could see Toriel wincing in shame and anger, but she still didn't concede.

"Why will you not fight?" she shouted in frustration, cracking a whip made of fire right over Frisk's head, which they barely managed to dodge in time. "Fight me, or run away!"

Frisk shook their head, feeling more determined than ever before. They wouldn't run! And they wouldn't fight her either!

Toriel was hurting right now - it was obvious. Frisk didn't want to pile any more hurt on her shoulders, not if they could help it.

And yes, leaving would obviously hurt Toriel, but if Frisk stayed, it would only end up worse for them both in the long run. Frisk didn't want to stay here. Even if Toriel was kind, and considerate, and reminded them so much of Mother, that wasn't enough for Frisk to stay. And if Frisk remained here, in the Ruins, only to be completely miserable all the time, it would be even worse than if they had just left in the first place.

Frisk could do this without hurting either of them, and they _would!_

"Why must you do this to me?" Toriel called out, desperation echoing in every line of her face. "Why am I not enough for you to stay?!"

Frisk winced, but still refused to relent. If Toriel would only _listen_ to them, they would be able to explain. But it seemed that wouldn't be happening right now.

Frisk had to keep going, no matter what.

Running out of the way of another giant fireball, Frisk made their decision. Springing forward, they ran straight to Toriel instead of dodging to the left and right as they had been doing before.

Drawing back in surprise, Toriel didn't even have time to let out a single syllable before Frisk was on top of her.

Toriel stumbled backwards, her legs buckling underneath her as she fell to her knees. Frisk clung to the front of her robes, wrapping their arms around her as best they could.

Frisk felt her wrap a hand around their waist, as if to pull them off, but then... she stopped.

And all was still.

But only for a moment. Frisk didn't let go, still clutching onto Toriel with all that they were worth, but then they felt something wet land on their head. They looked up.

Toriel was gazing down at them with something almost like wonder, even as her eyes overflowed with tears.

"Oh, my child," she said, her mouth trembling so much that Frisk could barely interpret it. "They do not deserve you. _I_ do not deserve you."

At that, Frisk shook their head, fiercely denying it. This wasn't about what someone _did_ or _did not_ deserve - it never had been. If life was about what people _deserved,_ then none of this would be happening in the first place. They wouldn't be fighting. They would be up, out of the mountain, and Toriel would be making puns with Mother and all of the monsters of the Ruins and beyond would be able to see Frisk's favorite park, and get ice cream, and be happy.

If this was about what they deserved, then Toriel wouldn't be crying right now.

Frisk reached up, carefully wiping away the tear tracks that were shining on Toriel's fur. They made eye contact with her, trying to convey their silent words as best they could.

_I want you to be happy. I want to give you what you deserve. And I can't do that if I remain here._

Toriel said nothing, but it seemed like she understood. She let out a deep, shuddering sigh, curling herself around Frisk for just a moment.

Then, she let go, gently nudging them back so that she could stand up. Toriel looked down at them, but Frisk could tell that it wasn't with the same type of gaze as before.

"Stay safe, my child," she said, muzzle turned up into an unsteady, but genuine smile. "Stay alert. Stay kind. And please... stay alive."

Frisk could do nothing but nod. They wanted so badly to reassure her, to explain that they could do it, that Frisk was the hero of this story and the hero always wins, but -

But she didn't understand them. So all they could do was smile, pushing every bit of hope and resolution and determination that they had into it.

Toriel reached out, gently patting them on the head. Then, she stepped around them, and left.

Frisk turned to watch her departure, something like pain echoing in their chest, but they didn't try to stop her. They didn't run after her either, didn't beg to stay with her for just one day, no matter how much they may have wanted to.

If they didn't want to cause her anymore pain, then they couldn't come back. At least, not until they had traveled to the end of this mountain, made friends with everyone, and proved that they could help their Mother just fine.

And so, with steady heads and an iron resolve, Frisk pushed open the doors to the Ruins.

...

Outside, there was a small area of green, much like the flower patch that Frisk had initially woke up on, but beyond that, there was nothing but snow.

Clutching their stick in one hand, having taken it out again once it was clear that Toriel wouldn't be around to burn it up anymore, they ventured forth.

Frisk glanced around, smile widening at the sight that greeted them. They were utterly enchanted by the scenery, enjoying the satisfactory sight of leaving footprints behind them in the snow. How had snow even gotten down here in the first place? Was there an opening in the cavern ceiling that let it in? But that didn't make sense. It wasn't as if it snowed all year-round on Mt. Ebott, and it would have to do at least that much to make these huge mounds of snow.

There was nothing but snow-covered trees for as far as the eye could see, and Frisk found themself fascinated at the discovery.

They were so busy looking around, turning their head every which way to try and get the best glimpse of the forest, that they nearly tripped over a big branch that was laid out in the middle of the path.

Giggling to themself for that silly mistake, Frisk reached down to gently pat the branch, apologizing for the near-miss.

After that, they carefully stepped over the branch, continuing on their journey. A little ways ahead, they could see some kind of bridge, with a large gate in front of it. And large was the right word for it - the bars were so far apart that Frisk could tell that they would be able to easily slip through without any trouble. It was in very good shape though, so whoever had built it at least kept up the trouble of maintaining it.

Frisk had only just reached the gate when they suddenly froze in place.

And suddenly was the right word for it - Frisk had definitely not stopped of their own accord. In fact, even as they struggled to move any of their limbs, twitching erratically, nothing came of it. It felt like there was some kind of heavy weight in their chest, holding them down against their will.

Frisk strained against the unknown force, trying with all of their might to get away, but it was no use. They were starting to panic, breath speeding up as their heart pounded in their chest, and then a hand landed on their shoulder.

Frisk couldn't even turn their head to see who it was, but it must have been one of the monsters of the Underground - who else could use magic to hold them still? The hand gripping them lightly was thin, almost gaunt-like from what they could tell, and covered by a soft mitten.

The person squeezed their shoulder for a moment, and then spun Frisk around, turning them so that they faced the monster holding them captive.

It was a _skeleton._

Frisk's eyes widened, trying to push down the immediate fear response of having a skeleton staring directly at them. But after a second of contemplation, Frisk began to relax, letting their shoulders lose just a little bit of their tension.

After a second glance, he wasn't really that scary. Sure, he was a skeleton, but he was smiling widely, and had calm eyelights trained on them, clearly waiting for something.

Frisk didn't know what he wanted at first, but they figured it out quickly enough when he released them, and the grip on their chest disappeared at the same moment. He held out his hand, and Frisk took him up on it without a second thought, offering their own hand in return.

In his hand, was something... rubbery? Frisk blinked, pulling their hand back and trying to see what he was holding, but the skeleton had already placed his hand back in the pocket of his jacket.

There was a few moments of silence, rapidly growing more awkward, and Frisk colored in embarrassment as they realized that he must have been talking to them, and immediately glanced back up to see his... _lips..._

He was a skeleton. He did not have lips.

He didn't even seem to open his mouth when he spoke, as far as they could tell. If he was even speaking at all, which was still up in the air, honestly.

But seeing as he cocked his skull to the side, his smile downturning just a little bit, Frisk figured that he was trying to communicate with them in some way. They might as well try using their hands - there was no harm in it, at least.

Tucking their stick under one arm, Frisk fixed the skeleton with a smile as they smoothly went through their practiced line.

*Hello! I am F R I S K,* they signed, making sure to fingerspell their name to make it a little bit easier. *I just came out of the door. I am from the surface. Can you understand me?*

The skeleton examined them for a moment, eyelights sliding from their hands to their face, as if trying to gauge their trustworthiness, before he also raised his hands, making Frisk suck in an anticipatory breath.

*i'm s a n s.* he signed with perfectly fluidity, though there was such a feeling of laziness from the careless nature of his movements that Frisk had to stifle a giggle. It almost looked like he was signing in all lowercase letters, or something. *sans the skeleton. are you mute?*

For a long moment Frisk didn't respond, just so overcome with joy at finally finding an Adult who could understand them, and then shrugged. They weren't technically mute, and had never thought of themself in that way - but they didn't speak, either. Mother had said that kind of thing was classified more as 'nonverbal' than mute, but most people didn't bother to make the distinction.

*No,* they decided to say finally. *I am deaf. If you are speaking, I cannot hear you. Sorry.*

As always, Frisk wasn't _really_ sorry, because it wasn't like this was their fault or anything, but interactions seemed to go a lot better when they started out with an apology.

*that's fine,* Sans signed, giving a half-hearted shrug. *no need to apologize.*

Oh, Frisk liked this one. They didn't even have to pretend anymore!

So, instead of continuing on with the polite requests and apologies, Frisk barged forwards, hands moving as fast as they could.

*Okay, okay! Why did you sneak up on me? Did you need something? How did you hold me in place like that? Was it magic? What kind of magic can you use? Are you really a skeleton? What's it like being a skeleton? What's - *

Sans held his hands out, looking like he was holding back a laugh even as he tried to get them to slow down.

*hey, cool it kiddo! i'm happy to answer your questions.* he then inhaled sharply, as if preparing himself for a great battle, and began firing off signs at a rapid pace. *I thought it would be funny. not particularly. magic. yep. the best kinds. yep. and absolutely _bonetastic,_ thank you for asking.*

Frisk snorted, holding their hands over their mouth to hide their smile. Really, they could barely contain their joy. Finally! Someone who understood, an didn't even ask any nosy questions about it!

Frisk was beginning to think that they would never see the day, so this was a great discovery indeed.

*you're human, right?* Sans asked, one of the pieces of his faceplate (like an eyebrow, maybe?) lifting in question.

*Yep!* Frisk signed, rocking back on their heels as they tried to hold back their nearly explosive excitement. They didn't want to scare him away or something like that, not after having their first real conversation in what felt like months. Hopefully they wouldn't have to fight him, or anything...

*cool,* Sans' smile grew just a little bit wider as he looked down at them, and then he gestured behind them, to the gate. *i'm supposed to be on the lookout for humans, but i don't care about capturing anybody. my brother does, though.*

*Brother?* Frisk repeated the sign, tilting their head to the side in curiosity. Was he another skeleton? And why would he want to capture them? Frisk had been under the impression that the monsters just wanted them dead, not captured.

*yeah, my bro. he's named p a p y r u s,* Sans signed, even as he walked forward and through the gate, Frisk by his side. *he's a human hunting fanatic. but he's pretty bad at it, to be honest, so i wouldn't worry. he should be here any minute to check on me. do you wanna meet him, or do you wanna hide?*

Frisk hesitated, biting their lip. They were grateful that Sans was giving them the option, at least, and it didn't seem like he would sell them out, but they weren't sure if they wanted to meet someone who was a 'human hunting fanatic', no matter how bad they were at it. It would only take one victory for it to be the end for Frisk, after all.

After another moment of deliberation, Frisk decided to hide for now, and told Sans as much. Thankfully, he didn't seem insulted by their decision, and instead ushered them to stand behind a very conveniently shaped lamp just as another monster stomped into the small clearing.

He was a skeleton monster, like Sans, but far taller. Sans only came up to his hip, and Frisk had to hold back a laugh at the comical image the two of them presented. This must have been Papyrus, then!

He moved his jaw when he spoke, unlike Sans, but Frisk still couldn't understand him. Without lips to form the words, he might as well have just been screaming constantly for all Frisk knew.

But still, Frisk observed the two of them interacting, enjoying the funny expressions Papyrus managed to pull off despite the fact that he was all bone. He seemed to be scolding Sans for something, based on his posture - probably about something that Sans was pretty used to, if the smaller skeleton's nonchalant stance was any indication.

Suddenly, Papyrus threw up his arms and stomped away, a positively grumpy expression on his face, leading Frisk to smother a giggle into the sleeve of their sweater. Sans waved them out a second later, his smile still with that teasing edge that Frisk was able to barely pinpoint.

*enjoy the show, kid?* Sans asked, shoulders shaking with what must have been laughter when Frisk nodded enthusiastically, pumping one fist in the air.

*He seems nice!* Frisk replied honestly. Papyrus was quite a bit bigger than Sans, and honestly a little bit intimidating on the first glance, but even without hearing what they were saying, it was so obvious that Papyrus cared about Sans, and that was enough for Frisk to like him. Frisk was not very difficult to please, especially when people were trying their best.

*he is,* Sans said, and Frisk thought that his smile became just a tad more genuine. *coolest guy i know. but _tibia_ honest - * Frisk snorted at the pun, making Sans pause for a moment before he continued, looking pleased with himself. * - he's been kinda down lately. i think meeting a human would really make his day. would you mind doing me a favor and helping with that?*

Frisk's smile dropped, and they studied Sans carefully. They wanted to believe him! They wanted to be friends with the monsters, and have many great adventures!

But, they... there was some strange feeling inside of them that they couldn't quite describe.

_Oh,_ Frisk thought, clutching at their chest. _Is this fear?_

Heroes weren't supposed to get afraid. They were just supposed to keep going, no matter what! Frisk _refused_ to be afraid!

And besides, they could tell just by looking at Sans that if they said no, he wouldn't be angry with them, and he wouldn't force them to meet up with his brother anyway. There was nothing expectant in his posture - only a genuine question. He wanted their help, but he wasn't going to be upset if they decided not to.

And that was what really drove Frisk to nod, shoving that silly fear aside. *Okay! Sounds fun!*

Sans' shoulders dropped just a bit, some unknown tension falling off of him in that instant.

*alright, kiddo,* he winked, stepping back. *thanks for playing along. and don't worry, i won't let anything happen to ya. go on ahead, i know a shortcut.*

And with that, he walked in the opposite direction of where his brother had gone, disappearing out of sight in only a minute. Frisk peered after him, a bit confused, but figured that he probably knew this area better than they would, so it made sense that he would know a shortcut.

Frisk was going to have to do this the old-fashioned way.

So, stick in hand, and determination held close to their heart, Frisk marched onwards. Their sneakers left tiny footprints behind them in the snow, slowly being covered up as new snow blew around in the wind.

Frisk was concentrating so deeply on where they were going, they neglected to notice the blinking red light in a bush, just to the left of where they were standing.

...

Around the next bend of trees, Frisk caught sight of a glowing star. There had been several of them along the path, but Frisk had left them alone, figuring that they were some kind of monster thing. But now, their curiosity was getting the better of them.

Stepping forward, Frisk cautiously poked it. Nothing happened.

Pouting, Frisk poked it a little bit harder, wondering if it was asleep or something, but still, nothing happened.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of inspecting (and poking), Frisk dismissed it, and decided to move on. Maybe they would ask Sans about it later. For now, they had a meeting with a skeleton to get to!

Heh... A meeting with a skeleton. Mother would find that really cool, just like Frisk did. At the thought, Frisk rubbed their arm lightly, casting their gaze downwards.

They really wished that Mother was here. That she could protect them, communicate with them, and love them the same way she always did. But that was why they were on this journey, wasn't it? To save her.

And Frisk would do anything for their Mother.

Moving along, Frisk met quite a few new monsters in the snowy woods.

One of them was a large bird sort of monster - he seemed to be trying to speak to them, but Frisk obviously couldn't understand. He became distressed after a while of Frisk not reacting to what he was saying, and he didn't get their frantic hand motions, trying to show that they couldn't hear him. He seemed to think that they were heckling him, which was absolutely _not_ their intention! They learned quickly that they just had to wait for him to say something, and then clap and cheer encouragingly. After that, he would trot away, clearly quite pleased with himself.

Another was a small snowman-esque creature, with a hat made of ice. Frisk managed to figure out that if they ignored the creature's hat long enough (which was admittedly rather difficult, seeing as it was beautiful and iridescent, shining in the light), the poor thing would get discouraged and leave. Frisk had actually managed to steal the hat from the monster once, but it had made them seem so depressed that Frisk had sat beside the monster for the next two hours, telling them that they didn't need the hat to be beautiful. The monster didn't really seem to understand Frisk's signs, but they understood the intent behind the action, and was very grateful.

But after doing those good deeds, leaving Frisk feeling rather proud of themself, if truth be told, they finally ran into the skeleton brothers.

Frisk had seen the two when approaching the path, and briefly paused in place, wondering if it was the right time to 'happen' upon them, but Sans seemed to have somehow sensed their hesitance, shooting them a wink from behind his brother's back. Encouraged by this, Frisk continued forward, pasting on a hesitant smile.

As they moved into view, stomping on the snow under their feet, Papyrus turned to look at them. Then, seeming utterly uninterested, he went back to berating his brother - until five seconds later, when he swung around to stare at Frisk with over-exaggerated shock, his jaw literally dropping.

He grabbed Sans by the shoulders, shaking him back and forth with a huge grin on his face. He seemed to be saying something again, and Sans only shrugged, still with that same easygoing smile gracing his skull.

Frisk stepped closer, moving until they were just in front of the skeleton brothers. Then they waved, trying to catch Papyrus's attention. He blinked (a skeleton - blinking. how strange was that?) and bent down, moving so that he was closer to eye level.

The child shot Sans a quick glance, unsure if his brother would be able to sign as well, but regained their confidence when Sans gave them a tiny nod.

*Hello!* they signed, making sure to smile genuinely at the tall skeleton. It wasn't hard - even only a few minutes in his company, and without being able to understand a word he said, Frisk could tell that he was very kind. *I am a human! I fell to the Underground very recently. Sorry if you were talking to me, but I can't hear you. Is it okay if I talk to you like this!*

Papyrus gasped exuberantly, going so far as to cover his mouth with his gloved hands. Then, grinning wider than perhaps even a skeleton should be able to, he lifted his hands to sign.

*HELLO, HUMAN! WELCOME TO THE UNDERGROUND. I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! OBVIOUSLY, IT IS OKAY FOR YOU TO SPEAK HANDS WITH ME, AS I AM QUITE PROFICIENT IN THIS LANGUAGE!*

Frisk's smile widened, enough so that the corner of their eyes crinkled. *I am so glad! Thank you!*

Papyrus only seemed more delighted at their response, hands flipping through signs with the speed and skill that did, indeed, speak of long practice.

*YOU ARE WELCOME!* Then, he got back on his feet, striking a pose with his long and somewhat ragged scarf blowing in the breeze. *NOW, I MUST CAPTURE YOU, AND BRING YOU TO THE CAPITAL! IF I DO THAT, I CAN FINALLY BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD! FAME! ADORATION! MANY, MANY KISSES! I WILL HAVE IT ALL!*

Frisk sniggered, eyes flashing with mischief as they signed their reply. *But Papyrus, I can adore you all you want! Not from the capital, though.*

Papyrus sputtered, jumping back with an expression of comical shock. *I-IS THIS... FLIRTING?? NO MATTER!*

He regained his composure quickly enough, to Frisk's slight disappointment, and pointed at them dramatically, Sans watching with an amused expression in the background.

*AS MUCH AS IT WOULD BE EXCITING TO BATTLE YOU HERE AND NOW, I MUST GO BY TRADITION! MY PUZZLES ARE WONDROUS AND DEADLY CONTRAPTIONS, CERTAIN TO KEEP TRAPPED UNTIL YOU GET BORED AND DECIDE TO LET ME TAKE YOU TO THE CAPITAL! COME! WE MUST COMMENCE WITH THE CAPTURING!*

And with that final declaration, Papyrus flounced away, practically skipping on air with the excitement of finally having a human to test his puzzles on.

Frisk couldn't hold it back anymore - they burst into a fit of giggles, having to practically hold onto their stomach to stop themself from toppling over. Was that really Papyrus's great plan? Boring his opponent into submission?

Not bad, all things considered!

And he did say that they were deadly, so maybe some of them had an element of danger to them that made it more likely for a person to give up.

At the thought, Frisk sobered, clutching their stick a little bit tighter. But before they could become too worried about it, Sans stepped in front of them, and gently patted them on the head.

*don't worry, kiddo,* he signed, giving them a cheesy wink. *the only deadly thing my brother has ever made is his spaghetti. his puzzles aren't likely to hurt ya unless ya slip and fall on the ice. so just be careful, okay?*

Frisk nodded, beaming up at him. When he stepped aside, gesturing for them to go ahead, Frisk did so without any hesitation, running to see where Papyrus had gone off to.

And so it went, puzzle after puzzle, battle after battle. Frisk met up with a number of dogs, petting all of them and getting various reactions. They'd spent nearly an hour petting this weird dog that extended their neck to never before seen proportions.

Frisk had been a little bit worried on the electricity maze, but remembering Sans's words, they'd stepped confidently into the square, only for Papyrus to get zapped instead! Thankfully, there was no lasting damage to the skeleton, and after he had accidentally left a clear path in the snow for Frisk to follow, they completed the puzzle with no trouble at all.

They really didn't have trouble with anything in the forest, easily making friends with the few monsters that inhabited it, and enjoying all of their silly interactions with the skeleton brothers.

Finally, they came to the very end. A bridge - or, at least, a very long rock that was hyper-realistically painted to look like one. Sans and Papyrus were on the other side, with the later looking slightly apprehensive for some reason, though Sans was as unaffected as ever.

*WELCOME, HUMAN!* Papyrus signed, though his movements were actually a bit shakier than his earlier perfect form. His left eye glowed orange for a split-second, and a series of weapons on impossibly thin ropes popped down around Frisk. For some reason, there was also a small white dog. *THIS IS IT - THE DEADLY GAUNTLET OF TERROR! AS SOON AS I ACTIVATE IT, BLADES WILL SWING, BOMBS WILL EXPLODE, THIS DOG WILL - WELL, IT WILL DO SOMETHING, I'M SURE. ARE YOU READY?*

Frisk wavered for a moment, but then firmly nodded. They could do this. It was like the final challenge, right? After this, they would finally be able to talk to Papyrus and convince him to be their friend. They just knew it!

So they waited. And waited. And waited. But after a long and awkward silence, Papyrus still hadn't activated the contraption.

*so what's the hold-up, bro?* Sans signed, glancing up at his brother with a smirk.

Papyrus sputtered. *THERE IS NO HOLD-UP! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING!*

Frisk snickered behind their hand, even as they felt their affection for the skeleton brothers increase. Frisk knew that the two didn't have to keep signing, especially when they were only talking to each other, but the fact that they were going through so much effort to keep Frisk included meant everything to them.

Papyrus happened to look over at them in that moment, and blanched, seeming even more uncomfortable than before at the clear admiration in Frisk's expression.

*WELL!* he began, before flailing helplessly for a moment. *THIS... IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM FAIR! THE HUMAN COULD NOT POSSIBLY GET PAST THIS - IT IS MY GREATEST WORK! THEY ARE SIMPLY NOT UP TO MY LEVEL YET. AWAY IT GOES!*

His eye sparked orange again, and the deadly contraptions all disappeared, letting Papyrus relax, his shoulders slumping. When he saw the way that Frisk was beaming at him, practically having stars in their eyes, his cheekbones gained a bit of orange coloring, and he abruptly looked away.

*WHAT ARE YOU SMILING ABOUT?* he signed, scowling rather fiercely for a skeleton. *THIS WAS ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND YOU CAN'T PROVE OTHERWISE!*

And so, with an exaggerated scoff (which seemed to be his response to most things, as far as Frisk could tell), Papyrus stomped away from the bridge, disappearing past the small patch of woods still left.

Frisk eagerly skipped over the rest of the bridge, running up to Sans with their hands already primed and ready.

*Did Papyrus really make that thing? That's so cool! Where did the dog come from, though? Is it your pet? Papyrus said that this was the last puzzle, so what's beyond the trees? Is it a new area? Hey, hey, is there anywhere I can get some food? I'm hungry! Oh, and also - *

Sans's shoulders shook, clear amusement in his frame. Gently reaching out, he grasped Frisk's hands and willed them to pause for a moment. It seemed that was going to be a _thing_ for them.

*take it easy, kid. you've got all the time in the world to ask questions, no one's gonna smack ya down.*

Frisk kept their smile frozen in place, even as they felt their happiness shrink, just slightly. Most people didn't like it when Frisk asked questions, so they had gotten used to throwing out as many as possible in in the hope that at least some of them would be answered. It was really the only method they had, and it wasn't like they often met people who could understand them, anyway.

But Sans couldn't possibly know that. It would be fair to get angry with him. Especially when he was going out of his way to sign with them in the first place - they didn't want him to get angry and decide to take away that privilege.

So Frisk just bit their lip, lowering their hands and allowing Sans to go ahead.

He tilted his skull to the side, examining them for a moment, before he shrugged. *to answer your questions; yes, he did make it, my brother is extraordinarily cool, we don't actually know where the dog came from, no, but i do have a pet rock, snowdin town is right beyond the tree line, and there's a real good place to get food in town. i'll even treat you, as thanks for being such a good sport about this. what do you say?*

*Yes, please!* Frisk signed, jumping up and down in place. Nobody ever bought food for them, no one except Mother, at least. This would be a brand-new experience! On that note, had Frisk ever gone to a real restaurant? Probably not. They only remembered the fast food places that Mother would take them to once in a while.

Wow, two brand-new things in only one event! How magnificent!

Sans smiled, and extended his mittened hand.

Frisk could only stare at it for a moment, as tears filled their eyes. How long had it been, since someone last reached out to them? How long had it been until Mother last held their hand, so, _so_ tight?

In reality, it must have only been a few days at most, but to Frisk, it felt like an eternity.

So, before it could get awkward and make Sans retract his offer, Frisk latched onto him, squeezing his hand excitedly as they beamed up at him.

He smiled back, still seeming a bit bemused by their behavior, but began walking alongside them nonetheless. Just around the bend, there was a large sign.

WELCOME TO SNOWDIN.

Wonderful! Frisk was excited already!

They bounced on their heels, breath coming out in a white cloud. It sure was cold down here though, huh? That probably made sense, considering the fact that the whole place was covered in snow, but the sharp temperature difference from the Ruins still caught them off-guard. Their hands were getting a little shaky now, to be honest, and Frisk was vaguely worried about the skin cracking, but it would be okay.

Frisk was used to way worse conditions. At least they had their sweater - as long as they kept that with them, a little bit of cold wouldn't be enough to faze them.

*Where?* Frisk signed awkwardly with one hand, making sure to tap Sans on the shoulder to get his attention beforehand.

*g r i l l b y ' s,* Sans finger-spelled, pulling his mitten off for a moment in order to do the signs properly. *almost there.*

Nearly shaking in excitement (or was that the cold?) Frisk returned their gaze to the town, taking in all the sights as the two calmly walked through.

There was monsters milling about everywhere, talking and laughing with each other. Most of them seemed to be animal based, from what Frisk could tell - bears, rabbits, dogs... A very fluffy town, indeed!

There was a shop, and an Inn next door (both with pun-related names, making Frisk stifle a snort), along with a 'librarby' that Frisk was very interested in. Even if the name was spelled wrong.

They had passed right by a restaurant with the letters GRILLBY'S right on it, though, and Sans hadn't said anything. Frisk didn't ask, not wanting to say something that would annoy their new friend, but they were rather curious.

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, they ended up by a large, two-story house. There was Christmas lights up, and a large pirate flag strung across the top.

It was, undoubtedly, the coolest house that Frisk had ever seen.

After arriving, Sans let go of their hand, leading Frisk to retract their own with a quickly-hidden pout, stuffing their hands inside the sleeves of their sweater in an attempt to keep warm.

*this is my place,* Sans signed quickly, moving up the steps to open the door, though he made sure to remain within sight of Frisk as he did so, making some kind of warm, fuzzy feeling erupt inside them. *come on in, we'll get you warmed up in just a sec.*

Frisk flushed in embarrassment, upset that they had been caught so easily, but still followed him anyway. He was right - they really wanted to get warm now after hours of playing out in the snow, despite their strong words from earlier.

The inside of the house was just as cozy, exuding that same kind of warmth that Frisk recognized from the Ruins. It wasn't as deep and sorrowful here, however. This was just a place that held a lot of love, and Frisk could admire that if nothing else.

*sit your butt down on the couch, i'll go grab an extra blanket,* Sans signed, already moving before he had even finished his sentence.

Frisk blinked in confusion, but followed his order anyway. Sans actually got a little bossy sometimes, huh?

Frisk giggled to themself at the thought, drawing their knees up to their chest after having carefully taken off their sneakers and placed them to the side. Sans was pretty nice, huh? He reminded them a lot of Mother, in that regard. Mother was, of course, the nicest and bestest person in existence and nothing would ever change that fact, but Sans wasn't bad either.

Sans walked back down the stairs a minute later, with what looked like an entire household's worth of blankets stacked in his arms. Frisk had no idea how he could even see over the top - it was several blankets taller than his skull, after all.

But he managed it somehow, and unceremoniously plopped the huge pile right next to them on the couch, rubbing the top of his skull and sighing as if it had been a great labor for him.

*here ya go. just pick out whichever ones you like best,* he signed absentmindedly, fussing with the single pillow on the couch and looking like he wanted to go hunt down some of those as well. *wasn't sure what kind you would like best, or what kind of sensitivity you might have, so i just took as many as i could carry. lemme know if you need some more, okay?*

Frisk nodded, a little bewildered. He... He had really put in that much effort? That much thought towards _Frisk's_ comfort, of all things?

It wasn't that it was a totally unbelievable thing, or that Frisk thought they didn't deserve it or anything like that - there were plenty of people who would go out of their way to help the poor, homeless, and deaf child, but that had never really felt comfortable to Frisk. It seemed like most of the time, those people were just doing it to make themselves look better, like they were getting brownie points for some invisible challenge.

Usually, Frisk wouldn't care. They weren't one to turn down assistance, even if the intent behind it was humiliating and sometimes utterly dehumanizing, treating Frisk like a prize to be won instead of a real person, but... Those were the same people that would never lift a finger to help Frisk's Mother, that would look between the two of them and say _no wonder._

Frisk... did not like dealing with those people.

But with Sans, it wasn't like that at all. He genuinely didn't know the best way to help them, so he did everything he could. And as Frisk reached over to grab the blankets and examine them, they saw just how much he had done.

There was every type of blanket imaginable in the pile, from the softest, fluffiest comforter, to a woolen quilt with a very delightful skull and crossbones pattern. There was even a weighted blanket, which Frisk was quick to wrap themself up in once they realized what it was.

Almost all of the blankets seemed to be homemade, and filled with just as much warmth and affection as the building itself.

_What a wonderful place to live,_ Frisk thought to themself. _You would never have to wonder whether or not you are loved, because you could practically taste it in the air._

Wonderful, delightful, stupendous!

Frisk was absolutely enamored.

Sans let them get comfortable, throwing three other blankets on top of themself for good measure, and then got their attention for a moment, beginning to sign again.

*i'll go get the grub, okay? a burger and fries okay with you, caterpillar?* Sans poked Frisk in the forehead, making them muffle a laugh and duck down further into the blankets.

They nodded an affirmative, settling down for a nice, relaxing nap as Sans patted them gently on the head before heading out the door. Frisk didn't think it would take him too long to get food, but they still wanted to take this chance to rest.

When was the last time they had slept, anyway? They had been absolutely exhausted at the beginning of this whole adventure, and now they'd met monsters! They'd traveled the Ruins, talked with a ghost, done puzzles of every size and shape!

No wonder they felt so sleepy, with a day like that.

And it was with that thought in mind that they slowly began to drift away, hands clutching tightly to the blanket covering up their small form.

...

What felt like only a few minutes later, someone gently shook them on the shoulder, trying to rouse them. Frisk whined pitifully, but did as was asked, struggling against the strange weight on their back. They didn't recall the weighted blanket being this heavy...

And as they turned their head, just a little, to see who was trying to get them up, they saw why. Sometime during their dozing, Sans had returned from the restaurant and had decided to take a small nap of his own.

Likely, he'd started at the other end of the couch only to migrate over somewhat in his sleep, ending with the two sleeping back to back, taking comfort in the other's presence.

Standing next to them, looking like he wasn't sure if he was supposed to be amused or angry, was Papyrus.

*HELLO, HUMAN!* he signed cheerfully, somehow still managing to convey a tone that made it seem like he was constantly yelling. *I SEE THAT YOU ARE PICKING UP MY BROTHER'S BAD HABIT OF NAPPING, WHICH IS MOST UNFORTUNATE. I WOULD HONESTLY RATHER HAVE YOU PICK UP ONE OF HIS OTHER HABITS, LIKE THIS SOCK COLLECTION! AUDIBLE WINK. THE LAUNDRY BASKET IS IN THE CLOSET BY THE FRONT DOOR, Y'KNOW. JUST IN CASE YOU EVER HAVE NEED OF IT. MORE AUDIBLE WINKING.*

*Right...* Frisk signed back slowly, wondering if there was some other way that they were supposed to react. Papyrus had mentioned Sans' weird sock collection before, of course, but Frisk didn't exactly see any of them _roaming around_ or anything. There was one, a lone sock by the tv stand, but it had a series of sticky notes above it that seemed to be getting more and more passive-aggressive as they stretched up the wall.

Sans wasn't going to hurt anyone with the little stunt, so Frisk saw no reason why he shouldn't keep it. If anything, Frisk suspected that he was really only doing it so that he could have an excuse to tease Papyrus. ‘Tis the nature of a brotherhood, after all.

Not that Frisk would know much about that. They were an only child, and tended to interact with other people pretty infrequently. They'd never had the opportunity to have a relationship with someone like that. Oh well.

The reminder was actually a bit... saddening to them, and reminded them of why they had come here. For some reason, though, they hesitated. Did they really want to ask Papyrus something like that? Ask him if he was, well, keeping their Mother captive in her sleep?

That seemed rude. Was there a better way for them to phrase it?

*So...* Frisk started, trying to figure out how to word their inquiry. *Do you guys ever leave the mountain?*

Papyrus shook his head, looking rather confused at their question, as if the answer should have been common knowledge. *NO, WE CANNOT LEAVE! THERE IS A BARRIER IN PLACE THAT PREVENTS US FROM EXITING THE MOUNTAIN. ONLY SOMEONE WITH A STRONG SOUL CAN LEAVE. SOMEONE LIKE YOU! THAT'S WHY KING ASGORE WANTS HUMANS.*

Frisk narrowed their eyes, weighing that information against everything they'd been told so far. A strong soul... If no monsters could leave, that must mean that only humans had souls strong enough to pass through the barrier. And since Toriel had been quite adamant that the monsters outside the Ruins would try to kill them, it made sense that Asgore would be the perpetrator for that.

He must need human souls for something. Perhaps he was hoping that with enough souls, all of his people could pass through the barrier.

Papyrus didn't seem to think that King Asgore wanted to kill them, though. This was... Something worth thinking about further. A good hero is never caught off-guard, after all!

And if Frisk wanted to find out what was going on... Find out what had happened to their Mother if the monsters hadn't taken her, then they _had_ to keep going.

They hesitated for a moment, eyeing the food that Sans had brought. It would be nice to get some grub, especially after how long ago that Spider Donut had been, but they didn't want to start eating without permission, and Sans was still asleep.

They would be okay for now, Frisk decided. They could always find something to eat later.

But Papyrus, having followed their line of sight to see what they were staring at, only let out a gusty sigh before reaching over and shaking his brother into wakefulness.

Sans groggily sat up, rubbing at his eye sockets as he blearily looked around. He seemed startled for a split-second when Frisk smiled up at him from their spot on the couch, but then his expression softened, and he reached out to gently pat them on the head. That seemed to be a bit of a habit for him.

*ready to eat, kiddo?* Sans signed, reaching out with his left hand before he had even finished his words.

Frisk nodded, clapping excitedly when the burger was handed to them. The two wasted no time in chowing down, the food still kept pleasantly warm despite the time it must have spent sitting on the living room table.

It was delicious, Frisk chowing down with a happy hum. They almost regretted not being able to visit the restaurant by themself, because this food certainly deserved praise!

Papyrus seemed exasperated, but he did nothing more than huff and turn away, heading into another room on the ground level - the kitchen, Frisk assumed. He wasn't too fond of grease, then? Frisk could understand that. There was some kinds of foods or textures that Frisk just couldn't stand, but they would always suck it up and eat anyway.

When you had no idea where your next meal would be coming from, or if it would come at all, you learned not to turn down anything, even when you desperately wanted to. The only thing that Frisk would absolutely not eat was strawberries, and that was because they were deathly allergic to them.

They had learned that the hard way - their one and only trip to the hospital had been a result of that, and the treatment they'd received had been enough to deplete their little family's meager savings. Frisk never wanted to be a burden like that again.

So, eating at a practiced pace, Frisk bent over their food, making sure not to let anyone else get too close. They didn't think Sans would try and take any, especially since he was the one to buy it in the first place, but you could never be too careful.

Frisk liked to believe in the good of everyone. And even in times when people weren't good, Frisk chose to believe that it was just because they didn't know any better. But that didn't mean that Frisk was ignorant. They knew that some people would be mean, just because they could. Some people would go out of their way to cause pain and suffering, just because they could.

But that wasn't _most_ people. And even those people weren't the worst thing in the world. It just meant that Frisk had to strive to be even nicer in comparison!

Emboldened by the thought, Frisk finished scarfing down the burger and fries, licking the salt off their fingers.

They turned to Sans, who had apparently been finished for quite some time now, based on the way he was just watching them with a look of amusement. As Frisk raised their hands to sign, he lifted a bottle of ketchup to his teeth, and -

And drank it??

When he saw Frisk's disgusted expression, he bent over in what Frisk assumed was a burst of laughter, his shoulders shaking. Haha, very funny.

*That's gross!* Frisk signed, wrinkling their nose. Sometimes kids at shelters would be given ketchup sandwiches, and those were some of the grossest things that Frisk had ever tasted. Why on earth had someone decided it was okay to make ketchup a vegetable?

*hey, to each their own,* Sans signed back, mischief clear in his grin.

Frisk rolled their eyes, but couldn't resist a smile of their own. Okay, so it _was_ pretty funny, even if it was supremely gross.

Still, though, their levity faded quickly. Frisk had to move on. They'd been fed, rested, and now they had to move.

Reluctantly, Frisk wriggled out of their little blanket pile, carefully folding up the ones they were using and setting them aside. Sans tracked their movements, and his faceplate moved like he was raising his eyebrow.

*got somewhere to be?* he questioned, and his expression was mild, but Frisk couldn't help but shy away anyway. They didn't want to disappoint him, or make him angry, but they couldn't stay.

If they stayed here, it would make Toriel's sacrifice meaningless, it would make all of their Mother's sacrifices meaningless. Frisk wasn't ignorant to how much their mother had to work for the both of them to just survive.

They would not scorn that.

*I have to get going,* Frisk signed, eyes flickering downwards to avoid looking at his face. *Thank you so much for your hospitality, but I need to go.*

*where?* he signed simply, seeming utterly unimpressed.

Frisk hesitated for a moment, their hands frozen in the air, before they slowly began to sign their reason.

*I have a family on the surface. Before I fell down here, I... there was...* They cut themself off, unable to go any further. They didn't want to think about it. They certainly didn't want to explain it, not even to this nice and funny skeleton who had been so kind to them. *I have to go back. It's important.*

There was a long moment where neither of them moved, but then Sans's shoulders dropped, and his eyelights dimmed just that little bit.

*yeah. i understand.*

Frisk could tell just by looking at him that he didn't, not really, but they appreciated that he didn't poke into the situation any farther. There was no one else in the world that could understand what Frisk was willing to do for their Mother, what they had already done.

But that didn't matter now. They had to move on.

*Should I say goodbye to Papyrus?* Frisk asked, gesturing vaguely to the direction he had disappeared to.

Sans didn't say anything at first, looking like he was struggling with something within himself, but eventually he replied.

*you probably should.* he shrugged. *he'll want to battle you, though. do you think you're prepared for that?*

Frisk bit their lip, and then shrugged as well. *I guess. Do I have to?*

Sans shot them a sympathetic look, but nodded anyway. *he won't let you leave town without it. he may like ya, but getting into the royal guard has been his dream for years, and delivering you to the capital would be a surefire ticket in. he won't let go of that so easily.*

Frisk let out a heavy sigh, before resolutely getting to their feet and marching into the kitchen. Sure, they could probably sneak out of here right now and get to the next area before Papyrus could stop them, but they didn't want to do that to the kind skeleton. He didn't deserve such treatment, and Frisk was the hero! The hero never backs down from a challenge, no matter how much they may wish to!

...And right now, Frisk was really wishing that they could. Fighting Toriel had been difficult and heartbreaking - they didn't particularly want to go through that again. But they would do it for Papyrus.

He deserved that much, at least.

When they walked into the kitchen, Papyrus seemed to be messing with something under the sink. they tapped on the back of his armor to get his attention, stepping away once they'd done so to make sure they didn't startle him.

*OH, HELLO HUMAN! HAVE YOU FINISHED EATING?* he made a bit of a face on the last word, but refrained from saying anything rude.

Frisk nodded, biting back a smile at his disgusted expression. *Yes. I have to get going now, actually, so I wanted to say goodbye.*

Papyrus straightened up, gaze darting away. He seemed extremely uncomfortable for a moment, but he then shook his head, getting control of himself.

*I SEE!* he signed cheerily, though he still wouldn't quite meet Frisk's eyes. *WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME OUTSIDE FOR A MOMENT!*

Frisk nodded, already knowing what he wanted, even though he didn't seem to be able to say it himself.

*Okay, Papyrus. I trust you.*

For some reason, that only seemed to make him feel worse.

His smile was very strained now, but he kept it plastered on as he turned his back to them and headed out the door. Frisk trotted after him, shooting a glance at Sans only for him to give them a thumbs up. Frisk returned it, despite their trepidation.

They didn't want to fight Papyrus, but they were kinda resigned to it now. And besides, they had been telling the truth - they really did trust him. Papyrus was kind, and they knew that even in a battle, he wouldn't go out of his way to hurt them.

It might even be kind of fun! Like a boss battle, or something like that!

Frisk supposed that Toriel's battle could count as one of those, but that had been such a depressing event that they preferred not to think about it. Big, strong heroes definitely did not cry in the middle of a fight, after all.

Outside of the skeleton brothers' cozy home, the atmosphere of Snowdin seemed even colder than before. Frisk followed Papyrus's path as he stomped through the snow, coming up on an area filled with steam.

Frisk let out a breath, curious at the way the air immediately evaporated. There was a weird temperature difference here - they could feel it getting muggier, despite the fact that Snowdin proper was only a few feet behind them. Was extreme temperature changes a common feature of the Underground?

That was... pretty cool, actually.

But before they could ponder the subject for long, Papyrus abruptly turned around to face them, a serious expression gracing his skull.

*HUMAN!* he signed, grabbing their attention easily as they chewed on their bottom lip. They knew that this was how it had to go, but wasn't there another way...? *I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE!*

*Okay, Papyrus,* Frisk signed back, making sure that he knew they were paying attention. *Go ahead!*

He hesitated for a moment longer, before plowing right into it with the confidence that Frisk had come to expect from him.

*I REALLY WANT TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD.*

Of course. Frisk already knew this. Wasn't that why they were having this battle in the first place?

*IT'S BEEN MY DREAM FOR A REALLY LONG TIME. I'VE ALWAYS ADMIRED UNDYNE, AND WHEN SHE AGREED TO TRAIN ME, IT WAS AMAZING! BUT...* he paused, looking truly downtrodden for the first time since Frisk had met him. *BUT SHE DOESN'T TAKE ME SERIOUSLY. I KNOW THAT I CAN BE RATHER SILLY SOMETIMES, BUT THAT'S OKAY! UNDYNE IS SILLY TOO! WHAT REALLY MATTERS IS THAT SHE DOESN'T THINK I CAN WIN IN A FIGHT.*

Ah, here it was. Frisk was still paying attention, but they made sure to shift their weight around, trying to get a good footing in the snowy ground before the fight began.

Frisk wasn't upset. They couldn't blame Papyrus for wanting to fulfill his dream.

*AND... I'M ABOUT TO PROVE HER RIGHT.*

_What?_

Papyrus walked up to Frisk, dropping to his knees on the snow in front of them, getting a bit closer to eye level.

*YOU ARE A VERY GOOD HUMAN, FRISK. I DON'T WANT TO BE ENEMIES. AND I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU. IS THAT OKAY?*

He seemed sincerely distraught by what he was saying, looking to Frisk of all people for guidance.

But of course, Frisk already knew their answer. They reached out, gently cradling his skull in their hands, and bumped their forehead against his in a gesture that their Mother often did with them.

*It's okay, Papyrus," Frisk signed, once they'd taken their hands back. Papyrus was blushing a bright orange, staring at them with something akin to wonder in his eye sockets. *We're friends. Friends don't have to fight each other, not if they don't want to. Okay?*

Papyrus let out a shuddering breath, his shoulders finally losing that last bit of tension that Frisk hadn't even noticed.

He pulled them into a hug, cradling them gently against his much larger frame. Frisk clung to him, reminded once again of Toriel in that moment. This 'battle' had been hard too, if in a different way. Papyrus was giving up his dream, for Frisk. And both of them knew it.

After a moment, they both pulled back, Papyrus discreetly wiping at his eye sockets.

*I'LL DO WHAT I CAN TO DISTRACT UNDYNE.* he signed. Unlike Sans, he didn't bother to ask where Frisk was going, or why. Which Frisk could appreciate, certainly. *SHE PATROLS WATERFALL CONSTANTLY, AND WILL DEFINITELY BE ABLE TO SPOT YOU. SHE HAS DEALT WITH HUMANS BEFORE, AND KNOWS WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE. PLEASE, BE SAFE.*

Frisk nodded, wiping away some tears of their own. Man, maybe it wasn’t cool for a hero to cry, but Frisk had sure been doing a lot of that anyway.

That was okay, though. They would get through this, just as they always did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sans: fine, i'll look after the kid, just don't expect me to get attached or anything   
> sans, after five minutes of interacting with frisk: oh no
> 
> hey, hope you're all enjoying! lemme know what you think. and if you have a question/wanna chat, hit me up on [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	6. about the time here

"Okay, it's just down here," Flowey whispered into Frisk's ear, trying to stay quiet so that the two of them wouldn't get caught sneaking away. "There's a lot of stairs, so be careful, alright? Take your time. It's better if we go slow and steady, over going fast and falling right on our face."

"Gotcha," Frisk muttered back, and then held out their stick in preparation of the drop.

Slowly, the two children made their way down the stairs, wincing every time one of them creaked. They had to get out of here without waking Toriel - if not, Flowey at least would get himself fried and baked into a pie!

But they made it without incident, and soon Flowey was directing them down a long hallway. There seemed to be no end to it, and Frisk shivered at the strange atmosphere that had descended on them. Their steps echoed oddly in this thin chamber, and even Flowey had fallen silent, mercy urging them on with small tugs every couple of minutes.

"Is it supposed to be so... quiet?" Frisk asked lowly, almost hesitant to break the uncanny silence that had fallen over them. Unlike in the rest of the Ruins, there wasn't even any ambient sound. Just the sound of their feet stepping over the tiles.

"Yeah," Flowey replied, hunching down a bit and pressing his face into Frisk's collar. "Sorry. We'll be through here soon, I promise."

Frisk breathed in, and then let out a deep, steadying breath. "Alright."

They could do this. And even if they couldn't, they  _ had _ to.

Suddenly, Flowey yanked on their ear, drawing a hiss of pain.

"Flowey, what - "

"Shh!" he hushed, coiling himself further around them. "Do you hear that?"

Frisk stopped struggling, ignoring the prick of pain for now as they concentrated. For a long moment, they didn't know what he was talking about. They couldn't hear anything - that was what made this place so creepy, right?

But... then they heard it. A soft, steady pattern of sound, coming from somewhere behind them.

_ Breathing. _

"Run," Flowey commanded, and he didn't have to tell Frisk twice. They bolted, heart pounding in their chest as they heard the echoing noise of someone pursuing them.

They wanted to ask if it was Toriel, if they should turn and fight, but there wasn't time. They could still make it out of the Ruins before she caught up to them, and Frisk didn't want to waste any more breath on useless questions right now.

"Dodge right!" Flowey suddenly yelled, and Frisk followed his order without question, darting to the side just in time to feel a wave of heat pass them.

Behind, Toriel let out a bellow of rage, nearly shrieking in her anger.

"GET BACK HERE!" she yelled, sounding like she was practically frothing at the mouth. "No!  _ NO! _ I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ANOTHER FROM ME!"

Frisk shivered, tears welling up against their will. What kind of shitty horror movie had they gotten themself trapped in?!

"Ignore her!" Flowey said urgently. "Just keep moving, we're almost there!"

Easy for you to say! Frisk wanted to scream, but they just ducked their head and kept going. They didn't have time to argue right now, not with a rabid monster on their tail.

"Stop! STOP! They will kill you! Child, STOP!"

Frisk bit their lip, tears finally overflowing and running down their cheeks. She sounded so desperate, so  _ aching _ \- !

Frisk didn't know what to do. They wanted to help her, but they didn't want to die! This was too much, too much!

They didn't know what to do!

"I'm here!" Flowey said, his petals brushing against their face as he repeated himself over and over. "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here! I won't let anything happen to you, not again! I'm here!"

Frisk pushed onwards, ignoring the pounding ache in the back of their head. They could do this! And they  _ would! _

"Here!" Flowey barked, forcing Frisk to come to a stop. "The doors are right in front of you, hurry and open them! I'll hold her off!"

Before Frisk could voice any protests, Flowey slipped down from around their neck, landing on the ground with a soft thump. Their hands were shaking, but they dismissed it and instead moved forward, grunting as they pushed against the heavy doors.

They tucked their stick under their arm, trying in vain to get the doors to just move already! Behind them, they could hear Toriel snarling in outrage, and Flowey's panting breaths as he tried to hold her off. This was the worst possible match-up for him - not only did he have some kind of unknown attachment to this woman, he was also a flower! Which was, undoubtedly, the worst thing to be when faced with someone who could throw around fireballs like a cheap parlor trick.

No matter how much they shoved and strained themself, they couldn't get the door to open, and when they heard Flowey finally let out a cry of pain as one of his vines caught on fire, Frisk had been through enough.

_ That was enough! _

They spun around, stepping forward even when Flowey screamed for them to stay back.

"That's enough!" they shouted, moving in front of their companion and spreading out their arms to block the way. "Stop it, just stop it! You're not helping anyone by doing this, and certainly not me!"

The wave of pulsing heat stopped, just for a moment as Toriel evaluated her new opponent. Frisk waited with baited breath, wondering if she would actually stand down, but then they heard a bitter scoff.

"How would you know?" she challenged, stepping closer until she was looming over the two children. Frisk stayed stubbornly in place, ignoring Flowey's frantic mutterings from behind them. "How would you know anything, child?! You have only been here, in this hell, for a mere day. And I can assure you that anything outside of the Ruins is hell. I am only protecting you, do you understand?"

"That's not true!" Frisk shot her down immediately, taking in an unsteady breath as the silence became deadly.

"Clearly, you do not understand," Toriel said coldly. The absolute iciness in her tone almost made Frisk wish for that maddening happiness to come back. "So I will simply have to  _ prove _ it to you."

Her voice grew in volume, matching the intensity of Frisk's heartbeat. "You wish to face a monster, child? You are just like the rest. I will show you, then -  _ a true monster!" _

"NO!" Frisk shouted, Flowey echoing them without any conscious choice.

Toriel paused, though Frisk could still feel her fire floating mere inches from their head.

"No?" she said softly, making Frisk shiver at the sheer rage they could sense from her. "No? Child, I am  _ not _ giving you a choice. If you truly wish to leave this place, then you shall do so over my corpse!"

"No, I won't!" Frisk declared, the words slipping from their mouth before they could even think to stop themself. But even as Toriel's fire grew dangerously hot, Frisk stood their ground. They dearly wished that they had managed to make it out of here without running into the fire-happy boss monster, but they certainly didn't regret this moment. They refused to. "I won't fight you, and you can't make me."

"Juvenile," Toriel hissed, making Frisk wince. It was true, but it still hurt to hear it. "You do not know anything of this world, child. You will die."

"I won't," Frisk said, and they had no idea where in the hell this confidence was coming from, but they were grateful for it all the same. "I won't die, not until I get home."

"And where is your home, child?" Toriel snarled, her words becoming slightly warped as if she was baring her fangs. "On the  _ surface? _ You will never make it. And even if you do, the barrier traps you here just as it does us. The only way for you to escape would be to kill the King, Asgore, and take his soul. Are you prepared to do that, child?"

Frisk bit their lip, adjusting the grip on their stick. They didn't want to lie to her, even though they had a feeling that they knew what she wanted them to say. 

No, they would tell the truth. Even if it would only make the situation worse, Frisk could at least say that they hadn't gone out of their way to lie to this already grieving monster.

"I don't want to," they confessed, plowing on when it seemed like Toriel was going to attack them for their denial. "I don't want to, and I'll try to find any other solution I can, but if it comes down to it..."

For a long moment, there was silence. Even Flowey ceased his mutterings, waiting for their answer.

"If it comes down to it, I will."

Frisk felt awful, even as they were saying it. They didn't believe that it was right to trade one life for another, and they were being completely serious when they said that they would look for literally any other solution first, but...

But, at the end of the day, Frisk didn't want to die. And they were selfish enough to kill someone else to ensure their own survival, however much they may hate to admit it.

"...Heh."

The fire extinguished, and Frisk heard Toriel take a step back. 

"I suppose that is the best I can ask for," she said, suddenly sounding more weary and more put-together than she had before. "Child, you have been handed a burden, simply because of your heritage. I cannot take that away from you, but I can keep you safe here. You will not be happy, but you will be safe. Is that not enough?"

Frisk felt Flowey crawling back up their body, and they extended their hand to help him onto his previous perch. 

"I... No. I'm sorry, Toriel. But this really has nothing to do with safety, or happiness. I just... I have to go back. I still have things to do, and I can't do them here. If I stayed, I would regret it for the rest of my life. And, even more than that - you deserve happiness too, y'know? And I can't imagine that having me around would really make you happy, Toriel." Frisk wasn't trying to be cruel. It was just the truth - no one was happy when Frisk stuck around for too long.

Least of all Frisk, to be brutally honest.

"You don't understand," Toriel said, and there was a deep, unending exhaustion in her tone. "I am a mother. It does not matter to me what  _ I _ feel. I only want the best for you."

"Not like this," Frisk said, and they knew it was the truth.  _ Not like this. _

Toriel laughed, softly. "I suppose not."

They stood there, in silence. They were in a crossroads, here, and neither were quite sure how it was going to go yet.

"We're going to leave, now," Frisk said, being a little more gentle with it than they had before. "Thank you for your hospitality, Toriel. And the pie. It smells absolutely delicious."

She laughed, again, and if the sound was a little wet, none of them mentioned it. "My, what a polite child you are. Thank you."

There was more to that thanks than either of them were willing to acknowledge, but they both knew that it was there nonetheless. 

Then, Frisk heard the sound of Toriel's long robe swishing against the stone floor, and she turned around to leave.

And then stopped. "Be safe, child. That flower will not be able to protect you against every enemy, and the monsters outside the Ruins will not be scared away by a mean look."

"I'll protect them," Flowey said, speaking up for the first time. His voice was filled with determination, and Frisk could tell that he meant it. "I'll help them get to the end."

_ I won't fail again. _

The words drifted in the air between the two monsters, and Frisk, for a moment, felt out of place. But then the feeling disappeared, and Toriel's footsteps began to fade away as she made her way back up to that empty, lonely house. 

"C'mon," Flowey urged them to turn, going back to the Ruins' door. "I'll help you."

Together, the two of them managed to push the heavy set of doors open, leaving Frisk to step forward, into the unknown.

The door slammed behind them with the sound of a grand finale.

...

Frisk's shoes made a strange crunching sound in the snow, and they fought against the urge to wrinkle their nose. This  _ sucked. _

Flowey was in complete agreement with them, because he was hiding in the collar of their sweater as best he could, shivering in the cold.

"W-We have to be c-careful," he stuttered, leaves shaking from the chill. "Up a-ahead is the first guard station. The m-monster who works there is p-pretty lazy, but he might still try something, so s-stay on your guard."

Frisk just nodded, not willing to waste any energy on speaking right now. Hopefully they would be able to sneak past this guy without any trouble.

Once again, as they made their way down the path, Frisk noticed the odd lack of sound. There was only the faintest rustling noises of the trees, no birdsong or anything of the sort.

Strange... But then again, they were stuck underground in a cave full of monsters, so just about everything was strange at this point. 

"Almost there, I c-can see the fence!" Flowey called out, and then moved forward a little bit, straining to try and see further. "Looks like he isn't there, so let's move quickly before he gets back!"

"Got it," Frisk said, using their stick to help guide the way. 

It was at that exact moment, with perfect comedic timing, that a sound like a gunshot went off, scaring the two poor children completely out of their wits.

"What the hell was that?" Frisk spun around, trying to detect the source of the noise even though they knew Flowey would have better luck of it. "A gun? Are there guns down here?!"

If so, they were completely screwed. Dodging fire and little white pellets was one thing, but if they had to deal with possible gunshot wounds on top of that, this wouldn't end well.

"No, something j-just broke that branch!" Flowey said, curling himself a little tighter around Frisk. "The b-branch I had you move around earlier. It got completely shattered!"

"We need to move," Frisk said, turning and heading in the opposite direction. They did not want to meet up with whatever had been able to break a huge branch so easily.

There was the sound of crunching snow behind them.

"Someone's following us!" Flowey hissed, hunkering down further. "I just caught a glimpse of them, we need to get out of here."

"Shit," Frisk muttered under their breath. 

But those footsteps were getting closer - Frisk could hear them gaining -  something had just  _ grazed the back of their neck - ! _

"AH!" Flowey screamed, prompting Frisk to stumble and fall, right before the bridge. "You bastard, what the hell?!"

A low chuckle was his only answer, and Frisk could tell that someone was leaning over them menacingly. Was that, like, a  _ thing _ down here? Because a lot of monsters seemed to do it. 

But this guy... Frisk wanted to shake their head in disbelief, but they were worried about dislodging Flowey. This guy was just fucking with them!

Frisk could tell immediately. They had dealt with a lot of bullies over the years, from irritating ones like Kyle, to actually threatening ones, like the man who had been harassing them earlier. 

And while this guy was clearly a bully, he wasn't a threatening one. That discovery was enough to make Frisk calm down, regaining their composure and getting to their feet. Calmly, they brushed the melting snow off of their sweater, trying their hardest not to show their irritation over this whole mess.

"Haha, very funny," they grumbled. Ah. So much for not showing their irritation. Oh well.

"i certainly thought so," a gruff voice answered, amusement lining his tone.

"Honestly, Sans..." Flowey said exasperatedly. "What is all this about? Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"yeah, you are," the voice - Sans - said, his tone one of mock-curiosity. "and with such a curious new friend? c'mon,  _ weed, _ aren't you gonna introduce me?"

Frisk could feel the way Flowey bristled against their skin, and they were none too happy about the other monster's words either. 

"No," Flowey bit out. "Fuck off! I found 'em first, so that means they're mine!"

"well..." Sans said musingly, and Frisk just knew that he had an irritatingly smug look on his face right now. "it's true that you called dibs, but... i doubt that anybody  _ else _ knows that, right?"

"W-What?" Flowey said, losing a little bit of his bravado. Frisk ached to do something, say something, but they got the feeling that Flowey was going for a very specific angle on this, and they didn't want to ruin it for him.

So, even though it stung to have to sit back and let him be taunted, Frisk stayed out of it for now.

"i just mean, i could kill you here right now," Sans said, sounding utterly unbothered when Frisk sucked in a sharp breath and Flowey snarled. "nobody would know that you'd gotten to 'em first, and i'd get all the credit without having to do any work. sounds like a good deal to me."

"You  _ could," _ Flowey said neutrally, and Frisk resisted the urge to bite their lip, struggling to look unaffected. "But you won't."

"oh?" Now, he just sounded utterly amused. Frisk kinda wanted to punch him. They were still confident in their earlier assessment of him, but this whole thing was becoming seriously distressing. "how do you know?"

"Because I would stop you," Flowey said, raising himself a bit higher. He had regained his earlier smugness that Frisk had inexplicably become so fond of, and Frisk grinned, knowing that he had retaken control over the situation. "And also, your brother is here."

"what - ?!"

"SANS! YOU LAZY JERK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING AWAY FROM YOUR STATION?" 

Frisk flinched at the sudden screaming, but Flowey gently coaxed them away, tugging them through the gate and across a wooden bridge. This lead them closer to the scary screaming person, which they weren't entirely fond of, but Frisk trusted him to know what he was doing. 

"AND... WHAT IS THIS? FLOWEY? WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT THIS STRANGE MONSTER TO MY TERRITORY?" 

"Howdy, Papyrus!" Flowey said cheerfully, his voice suddenly so saccharine-sweet that Frisk almost did a double-take from the strange tone shift. "I captured a human in the Ruins! But your brother is trying to nab the glory from me, after all the work I put in! Man, how unsportsmanlike..."

Frisk had to resist a laugh when they heard Sans growl "you little snitch..." from behind them, and this Papyrus made an over-exaggerated gasping noise.

"IS THIS TRUE, WHELP?"

Frisk heard the sound of boots stomping towards them, heading right for Sans, who was now swearing under his breath. Their brow furrowed as they concentrated on the noise, tilting their head to the side.

It... kind of sounded like Papyrus was wearing heels? Why, though? They could tell just from the angle of his voice that he was already ridiculously tall. Or maybe he wasn't, and those heels added an extra three feet to his height.

Frisk smothered an amused snort at the idea, imagining someone with such a commanding voice and stature to be standing on stilts.

"w-well, boss, y'see - " Sans began, but Flowey interrupted him before he could get the chance to talk his way out of this.

"He really did, I swear! The human can confirm!"

"Yes, it's true," Frisk spoke up quickly, making sure to direct their eyes towards the ground and look as put-out as possible. "I was so impressed when Flowey captured me, 'cause he was so clever about it, but... this guy said that he was just gonna kill Flowey and take the credit!"

"I got 'em because of you, Papyrus!" Flowey said, and Frisk could tell by his tone of voice that he was faking a pout. "After all your help with puzzle making, I managed to finally make a trap to hold a human! I was going to bring the human to you first, just so you could see how well I did with your advice..."

"WELL THEN," Papyrus said, sounding quite pleased about Flowey's little white lie. "THAT IS SIMPLY NATURAL! I GIVE SUCH WONDERFUL ADVICE, OF COURSE IT WOULD MERIT WONDERFUL RESULTS! I AM THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS, AFTER ALL!"

"exactly, boss," Sans said quickly. "you're so right."

Trying to get back into his good graces now, huh? Frisk sniggered.

"OBVIOUSLY!" Papyrus scoffed, apparently on the same train of thought as Frisk. "BUT DON'T THINK THIS MEANS THAT YOU'LL ESCAPE PUNISHMENT, CHEATER! I DON'T CONDONE SUCH CONDUCT, AND YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT!"

Sans subsided with an embarrassed grumble. "i was just joking..."

"THAT'S WHAT YOU ALWAYS SAY!" Papyrus dismissed it, turning to the two children with a sharp clack of his boots. "NOW, AS FOR YOU TWO. I WILL ACCOMPANY YOU TO SNOWDIN. PERHAPS YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO TRY SOME OF MY TRAPS ALONG THE WAY...?"

Frisk really didn't want to do that, but they also couldn't ignore the way he was attempting to sound so nonchalant about it. Papyrus was clearly quite desperate for them to try it - based on what Flowey had said, and what they remembered about the bedroom in the Ruins, no humans had fallen down here for a long time. Long enough, perhaps, for Papyrus to never have encountered one before. Especially since he had initially believed Frisk to just be a 'weird monster'. 

"I-Is that really necessary?" Flowey asked nervously, shifting in his position on Frisk's neck. "I mean, I've already captured the human, there's no need to go through all that trouble, Papyrus."

"IT'S NO TROUBLE." He sounded practically eager.

Okay, now this was just awkward. Flowey brushed his petals against the side of Frisk's face in question, and they subtly nodded. This guy seemed fairly harmless, to be honest. And besides, they would have Flowey with them, so it would be okay.

They could do this.

"yeah,  _ c'mon _ flowey," Sans sneered from behind them - no doubt trying to sound threatening after his embarrassment from earlier. "what's the harm? we'll make sure that the human doesn't get away, and my bro gets to test out his traps. win-win, isn't it?"

Not for Frisk, it wasn't, but they were aware enough to realize that their wellbeing was the last thing on everybody's minds right now.

"Okay, fine," Flowey huffed. "But I have to stay with them. They're real tricky, you know! Could try to run off at any moment!"

Sans inhaled, probably to try and find a reason to make Flowey go away, but the small flower monster kept going, not letting the other gain any ground.

"Besides, we want to make sure that they try all of your puzzles, right Papyrus?" he said slyly, making Papyrus let out a loud hum of consideration.

"THAT IS TRUE..." Papyrus said. Frisk guessed that he was tapping on his chin, based on the sound that was coming from that area. It sounded almost like china?

Hm... Curious.

Frisk kinda wanted to ask what these guys were made out of, but they knew that this wasn't the time. With Flowey around to distract and evade, their blindness wasn't as apparent as it usually was in their day-to-day. They didn't want to tip anyone off, in case they saw it as an obvious weakness to exploit.

"FINE, I'LL ALLOW IT!" Papyrus said decisively. "LET US GO, THEN! TO SHOW THE HUMAN MY GLORY!"

"Yay!" Flowey cheered, tugging on Frisk's hair to direct them the right way.

Frisk obediently followed along, listening to Sans' grumbling with a faint smile. The other monster was only two steps behind them, and it seemed that he was willing to go along with the whole farce even though he had clearly seen through it from the beginning.

He must really care about his brother.

Frisk's smile grew just a bit more genuine at the thought. They had never had a sibling of their own, so they didn't really know how siblings were supposed to act, but if it was like these two brothers - loud and teasing and still so full of love, then it was a wonderful thing indeed.

Papyrus lead the charge, showing Frisk all of his 'VERY AMAZING AND DEADLY' puzzles, and they cheered and clapped whenever it was appropriate. Strangely enough, Papyrus didn't actually want them to  _ do _ many of the puzzles, he merely wanted to show them to Frisk.

Frisk couldn't help but be glad about that, however - some of them really did seem quite deadly. Frisk had no desire to try out the electricity maze, for example.

But finally, they came across one puzzle that Papyrus absolutely wanted them to do.

"THE ROYAL SCIENTIST, ALPHYS, IS THE ONE WHO CREATED THIS ONE," Papyrus said, scoffing at what he clearly believed to be an inferior design. "IT'S OVERLY-COMPLICATED AND PRONE TO MALFUNCTIONING. I THINK THIS ONE IS ABOUT AT YOUR LEVEL."

"yeah, no reason to waste your primo puzzles on some chump, right boss?" Sans said, still trying to butter his brother up after the scolding from earlier.

To Frisk's great amusement, Papyrus was apparently fully aware of what his brother was trying to pull, but seemed to be accepting of it since it involved praising him.

They had an...  _ interesting _ dynamic, to say the least.

Flowey, however, seemed to be entirely used to it! Frisk should've guessed, based on the way he was talking earlier, but it hadn't occurred to them until that strange moment that Flowey might actually know some of the monsters outside of the Ruins.

Of course, it should've been obvious. Flowey had known about Muffet, after all, and tons of other things that he couldn't have known unless he had left the Ruins before. 

Frisk couldn't help but feel a little jealous, though. Flowey was  _ their _ friend, and despite their rather rough start, he was the only one in the Underground that hadn't threatened them, or tried to kill them.

Even Sans and Papyrus, for all that they were quite casual and sometimes even friendly, would dish out threats constantly. The words seemed to mean nothing to them - simply another tool to be used, instead of an actual threat on someone's life.

Frisk was so glad that Flowey was here with them. They would have never made it this far without him, and Frisk got the uneasy feeling that if Sans had come across Frisk alone, he wouldn't have bothered making vague threats, and might have just gone straight in for the kill. Frisk would never have even known.

But Flowey seemed to know how to handle these guys, so Frisk wasn't worried. Even now, Flowey was whispering urgently in their ear, telling them what the puzzle in front of them looked like.

"There's colored tiles everywhere in a big square, and each of them have different functions. Don't worry about it, okay? Just step exactly where I tell you to, and this'll go fine."

Frisk subtly nodded, trying to seem like they were paying attention to Papyrus' ongoing rant about his greatness.

" - WHICH IS WHY ONE CAN SIMPLY NEVER BE TOO PREPARED! DOGS ARE EVERYWHERE, HUMAN, AND THEY WANT TO STEAL YOUR BONES!"

"Well, they probably won't be too interested in my bones," Frisk said aloud before they could stop themself, before hastening to throw out some kind of excuse. "I, I mean after all, my bones are all covered up with icky human junk, right? Trying to yank them out of this meatsuit is really gross, trust me."

That one actually got a snort of amusement out of Sans, and Frisk felt their lips curling up into a smile as they continued. "And besides, I'm sure your bones are so lovely, the dogs wouldn't even glance at me."

There was a stark silence for a moment, and Frisk suddenly wondered if that last comment had been too far. What if the brothers didn't have bones, and this was all a test? Or what if they  _ did, _ and what Frisk had said was actually horribly offensive in monster culture - !

"IS THIS FLIRTING?" Papyrus asked, the somewhat rough and scratchy quality to his voice receding in his honest curiosity. "BECAUSE IF SO, I AM AFRAID THAT I CANNOT ACCEPT! WE ARE SIMPLY TOO DIFFERENT, HUMAN. I AM A SKELETON, FOR ONE. I AM ALSO VERY HANDSOME, FOR ANOTHER. WE SIMPLY WOULDN'T FIT WELL TOGETHER AT ALL."

Flowey was shaking with repressed laughter against Frisk's throat, and they could feel heat rushing to their cheeks as they fumbled to try and explain themself.

"I w-was just - !"

"AND NOW YOU CANNOT EVEN BEAR TO SPEAK IN MY PRESENCE," Papyrus interrupted, letting out a mournful sigh. "I SUPPOSE THIS IS JUST THE SORT OF THING THAT HAPPENS WITH A REJECTION. STAY STRONG, HUMAN! ONE DAY, YOU WILL FIND SOMEONE WHO ALMOST MEETS YOUR STANDARDS, AND YOU'LL SETTLE FOR THEM JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE DOES! EXCEPT ME, OF COURSE!"

"yeah, and i don't think the kid really counts towards that either," Sans laughed, the sound not actually as cruel and mocking as Frisk had anticipated, despite his obvious intent. "considering where they're going, i doubt they'll get the chance to go on any dates, boss."

"HM..." Papyrus said, and Frisk could hear the sound of him tapping his boot against the ground. "THAT IS TRUE. A BIT OF A SHAME, REALLY. OH, I KNOW!"

Frisk waved their hands in a disarming motion, trying to stop this before it got any further. "No, really, I'm okay!"

"OBVIOUSLY NOT, YOU HAVE LIVED A LIFE DEVOID OF LOVE OR AFFECTION!" Papyrus declared, stating his words so confidently that Frisk had to take a step back, stunned by his conviction. Was it just them, or was this conversation getting a bit too deep? "AND HONESTLY, I FEEL BAD FOR YOU, HUMAN. AFTER YOU GO THROUGH THIS RIDICULOUS PUZZLE, I WILL ALLOW YOU TO RETURN TO MY BASE OF OPERATIONS WITH ME, AND I WILL GIFT YOU WITH YOUR LAST MEAL."

Sans snorted. "sounds about right."

"IT WILL BE ALMOST LIKE A DATE!" Papyrus said, sounding almost cheerful. "BUT ONLY ALMOST, AS IT WILL BE PLATONIC, AND MOSTLY BASED ON PITY."

"I... okay," Frisk said, having officially given up at this point. Flowey was no help - he was practically choking on his laughter from where he was curled around Frisk's collar.

"C'mon, aren't you excited?" he wheezed, nudging Frisk's cheek with his petals. "You get your very own pity date!"

"Thrilled," Frisk said in their most dry tone.

"PERFECT! I WILL NOW ACTIVATE THE PUZZLE!" Papyrus declared.

After those words, Frisk heard a loud and metallic-sounding clunk, indicating that he had pushed some kind of button. Then, music started to play. It almost reminded Frisk of the jeopardy music - it had the same sense of incoming anxiety, at least.

"Okay, okay..." Flowey muttered, clearly watching carefully to see what the tiles were going to land on.

It only took a minute for the puzzle to finish cycling through and land on their colors, and when it did, there was a dead silence in the clearing.

Then, Papyrus  _ screamed. _

"WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER??" he yelled, stomping out of the clearing before anyone else could say a word.

"b-boss, wait!" Sans said, panicking. He picked up the pace, rushing to follow his brother.

Frisk waited until they couldn't hear either of the two's footsteps anymore, and then dared to ask a question. 

"Okay... Flowey, what happened?"

He didn't reply.

"Flowey?" Frisk said, now growing a bit concerned that the lack of response. "Is everything okay? What's going on? Is it safe to cross now?"

Flowey was shaking, slightly, and then he tilted his head back, letting loose a loud round of guffaws. Frisk pouted, clutching at their shaking heart. That had really scared them!

But... It was nice to hear Flowey this happy. His laughter was really cute, when it was free and unashamed like this. It kind of sounded like the bleating of a goat, now that they thought about it.

"Just walk straight ahead!" he said, once he'd finally gotten control over himself. "Trust me, you're fine."

Frisk raised an eyebrow, but did as he asked. They took a step forward, praying that he hadn't steered them wrong this time, but after a breathless moment, nothing happened.

"Just keep going!" Flowey giggled. "I'll explain when we get to the other side."

Frisk obediently went along with his wishes, simply taking it one step at a time. Before long, they had reached the other end of the puzzle, with absolutely no trouble.

"Papyrus did say that the puzzle was prone to malfunctioning..." Frisk mused. "Did it not activate correctly?"

"Oh, it activated alright," Flowey snickered. "It just formed the tiles in such a way that it would impossible for you to do it wrong - the entire middle path was the same color!"

Frisk blinked in surprise, but then couldn't resist a laugh of their own at the funny image that must have made.

"Man, no wonder Papyrus was so upset," they said, hiding their laughter behind an upraised hand. But the reminder of the tall skeleton brought their earlier thoughts back to mind, and considering that the other monsters had finally gone out of hearing range, Frisk figured that this was the best time to bring it up. "Hey, Flowey?"

"Yeah?" he said, twisting his stem so that he could be facing Frisk.

"How do you know those two?"

"Ah." Flowey hunched down, just a little. To Frisk's bemusement, it seemed that flowers could actually sweat out of nervousness. Good to know. "We're all monsters, y'know. I see those guys around all the time, that's all."

"Be that as it may, you were quite familiar with them," Frisk pointed out, not willing to let go of this point. They trusted Flowey, they really did, which was why they were giving him a chance to explain himself instead of just dumping him onto the snow and making a run for it. "Papyrus especially. He seems to like you."

"Please," Flowey scoffed. "He doesn't  _ like _ me. He only likes the fact that I praise him all the time. If I ever got in his way, he wouldn't hesitate to spear me through, I guarantee it."

Frisk highly doubted that. Not only had Papyrus become more friendly and amicable as time went on, he clearly held affection toward their little flower friend. True, he enjoyed the praise - that much was obvious, but it wasn't  _ all _ he was. His affection was clear in the fact that he allowed Flowey to stay with Frisk in the first place. If he truly didn't care about Flowey at all, then he would have ignored Flowey's request no matter how flatteringly he phrased it.

And Flowey spoke harshly of him now, but not all of the admiration in his previous words were fake. Frisk could see why, honestly. Papyrus was loud, and startlingly rude for someone who held good conduct in such high regards, but he had an honest air about him that seemed to be sorely lacking for the Underground. And even though Frisk really didn't want or need a pity date, and the whole thing had popped out of Papyrus's own misconceptions anyway, it was strangely sweet of him to make that offer.

Even Sans wasn't awful, if you ignored his jeering remarks and whispered threats. Frisk still believed in their earlier statement on Sans - his bark was worse than his bite. True, the remarks were sometimes enough on their own to make Frisk frightened, but they weren't sure if Sans would actually back it up.

That seemed to be a coping mechanism that many of the monsters down here had; make yourself seem as big and threatening as possible, and no one will mess with you. 

Flowey did that, especially back in the Ruins when he was busy scaring off all the other monsters. Even Toriel fell into that category, for all that she was also legitimately terrifying.

"If you say so," Frisk allowed generously. 

Still, though. They knew that there was more to this, and Flowey knew it too.

He sighed, drooping a little bit. "I... It's complicated, alright? I have a special ability... one that lets me have small 'do-overs', I suppose you could call them. Mainly, I just used it to help survive. But, with some monsters... I used it to get to know them better. Their strengths, their weaknesses. All that."

"And that connects to your friendship with Papyrus because...?" Frisk asked, trailing off and leaving him free to fill in the blanks.

"We're not friends!" Flowey snapped, but then he just sighed. "But, well, I spent a lot of time getting to know him. He's... pretty cool, y'know?"

Frisk smiled. "Yes, he is. Sans is still up for debate, though."

The two of them shared a laugh as they walked further down the path, unknowing of the pair of red eyelights scrutinizing their every move.

...

According to Flowey, this was the bridge that lead into Snowdin town, but Frisk found themself distracted by something else.

There was something floating by their head. They couldn't see it, of course, but they could feel the heat that it was radiating, and they were having a hard time not reaching out to smack it away. Flowey wasn't saying anything, so they assumed that it must not have been dangerous, but it sure was annoying. 

Finally, unable to take it any longer, Frisk reached up their left hand to swat the annoyance away, only for their hand to pass through empty air.

"Something wrong?" Flowey said, shifting to try and get a look at what they were doing.

"I... no, everything is fine," Frisk said, hesitating to bring it up in case they had just been imagining it. The heat was still there, but it didn't follow them as they moved forward, so it was probably fine.

_ Probably. _

They moved forward, stopping when Flowey warned them that the bridge was starting. On the other side, standing there triumphantly with his ragged scarf flapping in the breeze, was the Great and Terrible Papyrus! And his brother.

Flowey relayed all this to Frisk, who had to resist a snort at the description.

"HUMAN! YOU HAVE DONE WELL TO GET THIS FAR!" Papyrus boomed, voice carrying easily over the cavern. "NOW, YOU WILL FACE YOUR FINAL CHALLENGE. ONE OF THE PUZZLES CRAFTED BY ME, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS!"

Frisk barely managed to keep themself from giggling. Flowey's impressions really were spot-on!

There was another big clunking sound, and then Frisk heard the sound of ropes unfurling, along with the faint clash of metal, and was that... a dog?

"WHEN I ACTIVATE THIS PUZZLE, YOU WILL NO DOUBT BE PULVERIZED INSTANTLY!" Papyrus said, sounding pretty proud of himself in the beginning, until his voice began to drop. "YOU WILL NOT ADVANCE PAST HERE! FLOWEY WILL TAKE YOUR SOUL TO THE KING, AND YOUR BODY WILL FALL INTO THE ABYSS TO ROT! NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO FIND YOU! NO ONE WILL, FOR INSTANCE, BE ABLE TO MAKE YOU DINNER LIKE THEY PROMISED! OR SHOW YOU THEIR SUPER COOL RACE-CAR BED. OR ANY NUMBER OF OTHER COOL THINGS... NOT THAT I CARE, OF COURSE!"

Of course. That was the exact feel that Frisk was getting. Papyrus  _ clearly _ didn't care at all.

"ANYWAY, HERE IT COMES!"

There was a beat of silence.

"hey, bro, uh, you having a little trouble there?" Sans said, sounding resigned, if faintly amused. He probably knew Papyrus better than anyone, which meant that he'd known from the beginning that Papyrus wouldn't be able to pull the trigger.

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TROUBLE WITH ANYTHING!" Papyrus said, seemingly utterly affronted at the accusation.

Frisk decided it was time to speak up if they wanted to salvage the situation, and Flowey urged them on with a subtle squeeze.

"Papyrus!" They called out, cupping their hands over their mouth to help carry the sound better.

"YES?" Papyrus said inquisitively. It almost seemed like he'd forgotten they were even standing there. "IS THERE SOMETHING I CAN HELP YOU WITH, HUMAN?"

"Oh, no," Frisk shook their head, bashfully kicking at the ground with their foot. "You've done more than enough for me already, thank you. I just wanted to say that I'm really grateful for this chance you're giving me, even though it's obvious that you're going to win..." 

They let out a put-upon sigh, prompting Flowey to speak up. 

"Yeah, this is way above our pay grade," he said mournfully. "As if we could ever even dream of matching up to the skills of the Great and Terrible Papyrus..."

"I was really looking forward to that pity date, too," Frisk sighed, trying their best to seem heartbroken at the loss.

That seemed to be the thing to break Papyrus's resolve.

"OH, NEVER MIND," he sighed exasperatedly. "PUZZLES LIKE THIS SHOULD ONLY BE EXPERIENCED BY THOSE WITH ENOUGH EXPERTISE TO PROPERLY ENJOY SUCH A SOPHISTICATED CONTRAPTION. PERHAPS ANOTHER TIME."

Frisk heard Sans let out a snort, though he didn't bother to add in a snarky comment this time.

The trap disappeared as quickly as it came, causing both children to let out a slow breath, rather astonished that the whole charade had worked in the first place. Though it wasn't entirely faked; after all, both Frisk and Flowey could agree - Papyrus was pretty darn cool.

"OKAY HUMAN, YOU MAY CROSS THE BRIDGE NOW!" Papyrus yelled across.

Next to him, Sans snickered. "try not to fall."

Frisk scowled, but acknowledged the possibility. "Flowey, you'll - "

"Help you out if it looks like you're going to fall, don't worry," he said, his tone of voice almost gentle.

Frisk huffed out a laugh, and then took a single step forward.

It all happened so fast.

"Is that a - " " - (HUMAN?)" "We must - " " -  _ (eliminate!)" _

Before Frisk could do more than twitch at the sudden voices coming from behind them, they felt an agonizing pain sear across their flesh - like that of a twin pair of axes sinking into their back.

They barely registered the sound of Flowey's frantic calls, and the way footsteps were thundering over the bridge in their direction.

"where the hell do you two get off - "

"HOW DARE YOU - "

Before they just felt nothing at all.

...

F a l l i n g . . . ?

Frisk awoke with a startled gasp, sucking in deep breaths of air as tears welled up in their eyes.

"Oh god," they whispered, shaking hands rising to clutch their chest, digging in deep enough to leave bruises on their own flesh. "Oh my god."

Footsteps.

Frisk clumsily got to their feet, taking a step back as their heart pumped like a jackhammer in their chest. 

"S-Stay back!" they stuttered, wrapping their arms around themself, looking for comfort anywhere they could get it. They didn't have their stick. They didn't have Flowey.

Where even were they? How did they survive...?

The owner of those footsteps clearly didn't care for Frisk's opinion, because they marched right up to them anyway, poking them hard in the chest.

Frisk flinched back, resisting the urge to just start bawling. "What do you want from me?! Go  _ away!" _

There was a sound like someone scoffing, and Frisk felt one of their hands get grabbed roughly. They were about to try and jerk away, maybe even make a run for it, but then the person started to clumsily trace letters onto the back of their hand.

N... O...? No...?  _ No? _

Frisk scowled, tears finally overflowing even as they stood defiant. "No? What the hell, just leave me alone!"

Unless...? Frisk paused, refraining from bursting out into a blistering tirade like they so greatly desired to, and instead thought for a moment. Who did they know who would do such an action, in a strange place where Frisk couldn't hear anything?

"Is... is that you? Other me?" they said hesitantly. It made the most sense, right?

More letters.

N... O... No. So that meant -

"You're... the other one," Frisk realized, trying to stop their hands from trembling. "The one who tried to - "

Y... E... S... Yes.

Frisk swallowed. "Um, okay then. Is there anyone else, I, I mean, are the others here as well?"

The other child went to trace more letters, laboriously slow, but Frisk cut them off quickly.

"Um, just squeeze my hand once for yes, and twice for no."

There was a long silence, but then Frisk felt it - two squeezes.

"Okay, okay," they breathed out, trying to regain some sense of control. This situation wasn't as awful as they thought it was. The other child, at least, seemed to be keeping themself under control this time. "Do you remember what happened right before you got here?"

For a tense moment, nothing. Then, one squeeze.

"Okay, good," Frisk murmured, brow furrowing as they concentrated. What would be the best way to ask this? Ah, might as well just go for it. The other hadn't decided to act murderously yet. "Before I woke up here, I re-remember being h-hurt."

They swallowed thickly, pushing away the memories of that pain that somehow still seemed to liger.

"Really, really badly. Did something similar happen to you?"

One squeeze.

"So it seems like that's the catalyst," Frisk mused, calming themself down now that they had something to go on. "We first woke up here after falling down the mountain. Maybe the impact was enough to kill us, and we all came here instead? But why  _ here...? _ And how were we then able to return to the mountain...?"

Suddenly, they remembered Flowey's words from earlier.

_ 'I have a special ability... one that lets me have small 'do-overs', I suppose you could call them.' _

Frisk hadn't questioned him on it too much, considering that he clearly didn't want to, but now they really wished they had.

What if Frisk and their fellow counterparts had some kind of similar ability? A way to... come back, after death?

But only to a certain point. Like, like a save point in a video game! Falling into the Underground was probably considered the starting point, allowing Frisk to wake up on the flowerbeds, despite the fact that they had never originally even seen anything like them. 

"My friend, Flowey - do you know him?" Two squeezes. "Well, he told me about a special power he has, to turn back time in certain increments. That's probably connected to this, right?"

One squeeze, though Frisk got the feeling that it was a very grudging agreement.

"Oh, I... don't know your name," Frisk realized suddenly, feeling a bit embarrassed. Sure, this kid had apparently swung some kind of knife at them during their previous encounter, but they had been fairly helpful during this go around. And besides, it was rude not to ask for someone's name.

There was a minute pause, as if the other child was weighing the merits of answering, before Frisk began to feel letters traced against their skin.

C... H... A... R... A... Chara...?

"Chara," Frisk said aloud, tasting the way the name felt against their tongue. "Your name is Chara?"

One squeeze. 

Frisk grinned, genuinely happy to put a name to this mysterious presence. "Hello, Chara. I'm Frisk. It's nice to meet you."

Chara didn't reply for a long moment, not even to trace another word on Frisk's hand, before Frisk felt a single squeeze.

Yes. Nice to meet you too.

Frisk let out a steady breath, feeling the tension in their shoulders relax for the first time since they had woken up in this strange place. Okay. They were okay.

"Do you have any idea how to get out of here?" Frisk said. They might have managed it the first time, but they really had no idea how. They'd just been so terrified for their life, they were willing to give up everything to escape in that moment.

They didn't think it was exactly the right time to mention that, though, considering that the one they had been so scared of was literally holding their hand.

One squeeze.

"What, you do?" Frisk asked, eyes widening in surprise. That had been a shot in the dark, really (heh), they figured that Chara would be as lost as they were!

Another squeeze. Somehow, that one felt sarcastic.

"Okay, okay," Frisk said, a reluctant smile coming to their face at the sassiness of their companion. "Can you tell me how? As simply as possible?"

The answer was almost immediate this time, with absolutely no waiting on Chara's part.

W... A... N... T... 

"You... have to want it?" Frisk said slowly, trying to translate what their companion meant. Frisk was not stupid, by any means, but the communication barrier between the two children was frustrating to them both. It made this whole ordeal a lot harder than it needed to be, certainly.

One squeeze.

"Got it," Frisk murmured, eyelids fluttering closed. They had to want it. They had to  _ want _ to leave. "Are you ready to try?"

One squeeze. And then - nothing.

Frisk's hand closed on empty air, their companion disappearing as fast as they had shown up in the first place. It was actually a bit disorienting, causing Frisk to fumble for a moment as they tried to figure out where Chara had gone.

Well, apparently it had worked. Chara was nowhere to be found -  and Frisk knew that they hadn't just snuck away, because they hadn't heard any sound of footsteps, or anything like that. 

You have to want it, huh? That was the key.

Frisk had to  _ want _ to leave.

But... did they really want to, right now? They had no way of knowing what they would be jumping back into. What if they ended up all the way back at the beginning? Frisk didn't think they could deal with that again, deal with the hostile monsters of the Ruins and Toriel's heartbreak. 

So, what happened if they woke up after that? Would they only appear a few seconds before the attack, forcing them to experience their own death over and over again?

Frisk's breathing picked up, and they slowly sat down, pulling their knees to their chest as they rocked back and forth. Were they even ready to go back?

Could they do it? Could they really wish, with all their heart, to go back to that place?

Frisk wasn't sure if they could. They weren't strong. Not like Chara, not like that other Frisk, not like -

Not like Flowey.

Flowey.  _ I'll help them get to the end. _

And... that promise they had made to Toriel.  _ If it comes down to it, I will. _

That's what Frisk had said, what they promised her that they would do. Toriel wanted them to live. Flowey wanted them to live. Hell, based on what they could vaguely remember while they were dying of blood loss, even Sans and Papyrus had been upset about their sudden murder.

Of course, that might have just been because they were hoping to do it  _ themselves, _ but Frisk chose not to believe that. 

Frisk chose, actively, to believe that people could be better. That even monsters could be saved.

And they were going to prove it, too - and to do that, they needed to get out of here. It doesn't matter when or why they got dropped off, Frisk would do it again! To ensure everyone's happiness and health... They could keep doing it as many times as it was asked of them.

And they would be better every single time. Now,  _ that _ was a promise.

'I need to leave,' Frisk thought firmly, refraining from just yelling it off the rooftops like they wanted to. 'I have things to do.'

Their tone was gentle, perhaps even wishy-washy, but there was an undeniable steel to them. Frisk was going to leave no matter what, and they had the determination to see this journey through.

Just as the thought crossed their mind, the floor opened up underneath them, and suddenly they were

f a l l i n g . . . 

...

Frisk snapped back into reality standing up, and with Flowey practically screaming in their ear.

"Oh no, oh god," he said, sounding more shaken up than Frisk had ever heard from the small flower monster before. "Are you okay? No, that's a stupid question, what happened? Do you remember - "

"I remember something," they said, trying to piece together what had happened to them the last few minutes. "I got hit, in the back. Two attackers, I think? I thought I was going to die, it hurt so badly. And then I... I woke up."

They decided not to mention the strange empty space and the alternate versions of themself. It didn't seem like the right time.

"I can't believe it," Flowey said, his torn and shaking petals brushing against their face. "I, I was so worried. You fell over and there was blood everywhere and I couldn't see what was going on, so I tried to do a LOAD, and I couldn't! I couldn't do it, couldn't help you! I thought I was done being so useless, but now... nothing has changed. I'm still nothing but a crybaby."

Frisk blinked, trying to figure out where this impassioned rant was coming from. Why were they somehow getting the feeling that Flowey wasn't talking about them...?

"It's okay, Flowey," they finally managed to say, lifting a hand to pat him gently on the head. "There was nothing you could have - "

"I  _ should _ have!" he said, nearly shouting at this point. "I should have known better, I should've protected you better! I should have known better than to let you do it alone!"

Even though they were aware that he wasn't in his right mind currently, Frisk couldn't help the simple confused statement that escaped their mouth.

"But Flowey, I was never alone. You've always been here for me."

All the motion in Flowey's body vanished, from the rustling of his leaves to the pinpricks of his vines.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF KING ASGORE ARE YOU TWO DOING OVER THERE?" Papyrus demanded, making Frisk jolt from the reminder of his presence. "ARE YOU READY TO TRY THE PUZZLE OR NOT?"

Puzzle. Papyrus. The bridge.

They must have just arrived at the bridge! Frisk paled, already starting to shake as the memories threatened to overwhelm them.

Papyrus must have sensed something about their demeanor, because he hesitated in a way that he had not done previously.

"THIS PUZZLE IS VERY INTENSIVE, AND REQUIRES MUCH CONCENTRATION... ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE CAPABLE OF HANDLING IT RIGHT NOW?

Then, the very last thing that Frisk had expected came to be - Sans spoke up.

"maybe we should let 'em off, just this once," Sans said. But unlike what Frisk had somehow expected him to act, he didn't sound smug at all. In fact, he sounded like he was almost... concerned?

But not really. It was hard to explain, but he sounded more  _ concerned-adjacent _ than anything, like he was worried more about the consequences of an action than he was about Frisk themself.

Which, fair.

"HM... YOU REALLY DO NOT APPEAR WELL, HUMAN," Papyrus decided, and Frisk heard his heavy footsteps as he crossed the bridge to stand before them. "C'MON NOW, UP YOU GET."

"Wait, what - " Frisk squeaked, completely out of their element when Papyrus leaned down and easily lifted them into his arms.

He wasn't brutish about it, either. He held them so gently, in fact, it seemed like he was afraid that they were going to break.

Hesitantly, Frisk reached down to grasp one of Papyrus's hands from where it was wrapped carefully around their waist.

Yep, definitely skeleton. Frisk was fascinated by the texture, practically able to feel all of the individual bones in his hand despite the fact that he was wearing a pair of very thick gloves. 

Papyrus was already chattering away about all of the great things he wanted to show them at the house, and though Frisk would have said yes anyway, it seemed that they were really not being given a choice in this scenario.

Well, that was fine. They both seemed to be fairly kind, if arrogant and sometimes (unbearably) smug. If this turned out to be like Toriel's situation, or some other kind of Edgar Allan Poe bullshit, then they would be able to handle it. And even if they couldn't, they knew that Flowey was on their side.

Not that he was doing much of god job of that right now. He currently had his face buried in Frisk's collarbone, and wasn't paying attention to any of the numerous Snowdin citizens that looked like they wanted to take a bite out of them.

Thankfully, though, no one tried to approach them or start shit about their status as a member of the human race. Apparently, being flanked by Sans and Papyrus was enough proof that the poor little human wasn't going to last another day.

Frisk kept their head tilted downward, listening intently. There was whispers all around them, monsters talking amongst each other. Strangely, they didn't sound all that happy. Frisk had assumed that they would be happy to hear that a human had been captured, but they were instead whispering to each other urgently.

Frisk could make out a few words here and there;

"Asgore..." "...war..." "...souls are so powerful..."

They frowned, just a little. There was something going on that Flowey hadn't told them about. Asgore was probably the King, right? They thought that Toriel might have said something to that effect.

Hm...

But unfortunately, they didn't have the time to think of it any longer. After only a moment of walking through the town, Papyrus shifted his grip on them to a single arm, and used the other to unlock a door.

"HERE WE ARE, HUMAN! SCENIC MY HOUSE. I WOULD SAY MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE, BUT SEEING AS YOU ARE A PRISONER, THAT WOULD BE A LIE."

Well, Frisk couldn't fault the guy for his honesty.

"Just put us over on the couch!" Flowey chimed in. "I'll keep an eye on them to make sure they don't go anywhere. And that way, we can prepare for that pity dinner you promised!"

Papyrus brightened. "AH, YES! I WILL GO BEGIN TO PREPARE THE SPAGHETTI RIGHT NOW!"

"Spaghetti?" Frisk repeated, feeling a chill work its way up their spine. Spaghetti was difficult for them to eat without giving away their blindness - the sauce got everywhere.

"INDEED! I TYPICALLY ENJOY MAKING LASAGNA MORE, BUT IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND THE INGREDIENTS, SO SPAGHETTI IS JUST EASIER," Papyrus said bluntly. "NOW, STAY HERE AND ENTERTAIN MY BROTHER! OTHERWISE, HE WILL SLINK OFF TO HIS ROOM AND MAKE A HUGE MESS."

With that, Papyrus stomped away, leaving Frisk, Flowey, and Sans trapped in an awkward silence in front of the living room couch.

"guess he wants me to stay downstairs this time," Sans said, walking over to flop on to the couch. Flowey directed Frisk to follow his lead, though they sat stiffly on the very end so that they wouldn't take up too much room. "you ever seen mettaton?"

"Metta...ton?" Frisk said, tilting their head to the side. Had Flowey mentioned that before?

"heh," Sans chuckled, the sound still seeming somewhat teasing in nature. "then you're gonna love this. hope you don’t mind some gore."

Gore?? Just what had they gotten themself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sans: hey kid, what have you got there?  
> frisk: trauma! you want some?  
> sans: no thank you, i've got some already, and mine is vintage
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	7. love is the vital core of the soul

They sat in silence for a long time, calmly sipping their tea.

Chara was stalling, and they knew it. But even though they had made that promise, even though they had sworn to keep going  _ no matter what... _

Something in them was still begging to stay.

How utterly pathetic.

They gulped down the last of their tea, not bothering to try and savor it anymore. Chara knew that they had to get going, or they would do something stupid like ask to sleep here for the night, or ask about Asgore's family, or any number of desperate and clingy things.

"Ah, are you ready to depart, child?" Asgore spoke up, seeing that they had finished with their drink.

Chara nodded, eyes only drifting up to look at him for a single moment before they found their gaze fixed on the table once more. Wow, he had a really nice tablecloth. Was that linen? It felt like linen. Do people usually have linen tablecloths?

...Okay, now it was just getting ridiculous.

Never one to shy away from their problems, Chara stood up, staring steadily at Asgore to signal their readiness. 

"Just one moment, please," Asgore said, giving them a strained smile. He stood up from the table, shuffling off into the kitchen for a moment and messing around with something in there.

Chara just stayed put, awkward and unsure of what else to do, only to breathe out a sigh of relief when Asgore returned a moment later. He had a metal thermos in his hand, and he gave it to Chara with a smile. 

"Here is some more tea," he murmured, chuckling a little. "Just in case."

Chara smiled back at him, perhaps the first genuine time they had done so, and carefully tucked it away. They were lucky that their pockets were absurdly huge...

"Now, follow me, child," Asgore said, gesturing for them to come along with him. "I will show you the way to exit the Ruins."

Chara followed after him, carefully avoiding trodding on his long robes. He lead them down a long staircase, into a well-lit hallway.

As soon as Chara took their foot off the last step, they could feel something in the air. It was in the way everything just became  _ silent, _ no ambient sound to be heard. It was in the way that Asgore's face seemed to grow sterner, the burden on his shoulders heavier.

There was a new tension between them, and Chara wasn't sure when it had manifested itself, or why. Asgore wanted them to go on, didn't he? He wanted them to leave, to find their way 'home'.

Ha. As if Chara had ever had such a thing in the first place. If that shitty house in a shitty neighborhood with their shitty dad was their 'home', then they were fine just where they were.

...Of course, they wouldn't say that. Asgore didn't want them. And they didn't particularly want to stay in the Underground, where every other monster was trying to knock their head off. It would be easier to go back to the surface, and then make a run for it. They could live in the woods and be a real feral child, like in those videos they got shown in school.

Chara; the child raised by wolves. Yeah, that had a nice ring to it. All they had to do now was escape this place, and then find some wolves.

That's easy enough.

Nodding to themself, they sped up a little bit until they were walking by Asgore's side instead of behind him, and grinned up at him when he glanced down to see what they were doing.

He smiled back - briefly, and in a very shaky manner, but he did smile. That was all that Chara needed.

Finally, they reached a door. There was a large symbol on it, the same one that Asgore was wearing on the front of his robes.

He turned to face Chara then, all traces of levity gone from his face.

"You have done well so far, child," he said gravely, his tone immediately causing Chara to perk up and pay attention. "But now, I am afraid that you must prove yourself to me one last time."

Chara frowned in confusion, only to stop short when he lifted his right hand into the air, and a bright red trident appeared within his grasp.

"Fight me," Asgore said, his eyes blazing with a certain determination that Chara couldn't ignore. "Defeat me, and prove that you are strong enough to survive what this cursed Underground has become!"

Chara jumped backwards, making some space between the two of them, and pulled their knife out on instinct. But inside, their heart was racing, confusion warring with a strange sense of betrayal.

Asgore's trident flashed orange, coming down upon them in a flash, and the fight began.

Chara rolled out of the way, barely avoiding it. They weren't able to get out of the way of the next strike, but the trident had changed to a light blue color, and it passed right through their frozen body.

Chara quickly picked up the rhythm after that, moving in the correct way to avoid getting hit by the trident, and dodging swathes of fire as they did so. Practically on autopilot, they lashed out with their knife, hitting Asgore every time.

The large monster never  _ tried _ to move out of the way of their attacks, always meeting them head-on. Even when Chara saw the way he began to falter, his grip on the trident loosening, he never dodged their blows.

Chara felt like they were floating. What was going on? What were they doing?

Their body kept going without their input, carving more lines into Asgore's body, eventually making it so dust was flaking off with every hit.

What were they doing? And more importantly, why couldn't they stop?

Chara didn't want to fight Asgore. They didn't want to hurt him!

Why couldn't they stop? Why couldn't they stop?  _ Why couldn't they - _

Asgore let out a sharp cry of pain, falling to his knees as Chara's final blow did critical damage. 

They drew their knife back up, preparing to bring it down on him once more - 

And Asgore  _ smiled _ at them.

Chara stopped their blade only inches away from their target. Suddenly, to them, Asgore's face blurred and was replaced with that damn doppelgänger from before.  _ Smiling, smiling, smiling. _

"I'm so glad," Asgore said, letting out a painful sounding cough. Chara's eyes snapped back to him, forcefully pulling themself out of whatever weird flashback that was. He was still smiling at them, not scared at all of the knife that was hovering over his chest. "You are indeed strong, child. That makes me so happy."

If Chara wanted to, they could kill him right now. They could kill him, and move on to the rest of the Underground. That was something that they could just  _ do. _

"Kill me, please."

Chara's eyes widened, actually pulling their knife back in their surprise. Asgore gave them a rueful look, but the determination in his expression didn't fade.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was selfish. I wanted to protect you from this reality for as long as I could. But you must kill me."

Chara didn't understand, and they thought Asgore could read that in their face. He sighed, pressing a hand to his chest - where there was a wound that was still bleeding dust.

"The barrier prevents us monsters from ever leaving the Underground," he said gravely. "It would take an extraordinarily strong soul to overcome it, and that can only be achieved by a human soul and a boss monster's soul being together. If you kill me here, and absorb my soul, it will prevent later heartache. You would never have to kill again, my child."

He gave Chara a wry look, seeing the way they drew back into themself defensively.

"Yes, I know that you are not as wicked and evil as you try so very hard to be," he chuckled, making Chara bristle and feel oddly insulted. "You do not truly wish to hurt anyone. At least this way, you can finally put my soul to use, and go home. I could never burden you with such a horrible choice, my child. This is my gift to you."

Asgore fell to his knees, his breath becoming labored. "Hurry now, child. I do not want anymore fighting. Please, accept my gift."

Seeing this display, watching how Asgore lowered himself and bowed his head...

It made Chara's blood boil.

How  _ dare _ he? How dare he presume to know what they wanted? Who gave him the right?

Chara felt insulted. Did he truly think them to be so selfish, so utterly vile that they would kill him without a second thought? No.

All at once, the haze faded. Their mind came back to them, the rage and numbness from before vanishing in a second. They put their knife away, and crossed their arms over their chest.

_ No. _

Asgore faltered, reaching out to them with trembling hands. "My child,  _ please." _

No! Chara shook their head, scowling at him for the continued demand. 

He had  _ no right. _ He didn't get to choose that. If he wanted to die for his beliefs, then fine, he could go right ahead. But not by Chara's hand. That was one thing that they simply could not allow.

Chara was not to be  _ used _ by anyone. Not even someone with the very best intentions.

Asgore must have seen their resolve in that moment, because he didn't try to convince them again. He just sighed, lightly, and let his arms fall.

"Won't you let me do at least this much for you?" he said, and in that moment, he sounded almost broken.

Chara shook their head, refusing to let his defeated posture break them down. They had made their choice on this. And, quite honestly... they wanted Asgore to live. They wanted him to  _ live, _ and to be able to see him again someday. 

They knew that if they cut him down here, they would regret it for the rest of their life. And Chara did not have regrets.

"If you do not kill me now, you will kill another, later," Asgore warned. In his expression, there was fear - fear for  _ them, _ for the journey they would go through and the choices they would have to make. "Most likely, it would be the Queen, Toriel. Are you prepared to do that?"

Chara cocked their head to the side, wondering how they could answer that. A part of them wanted to say, yes, of course, but Chara wasn't sure if they trusted that part. That was the part of them that had hesitated to kill that other kid,  _ and _ Asgore for that matter.

But they didn't want to say no, either, because that also wasn't quite right.

Damn, did they wish that they could help him understand. There was so much that Chara wanted to say here, wanted to communicate to him! Even if they tried to run back up to the house and grab some paper to write on, they didn't think it would work. Chara had always been better with their signs, ironically. 

When they tried to write things down, it never came out the way they wanted, and just ended up making them feel gross and uncomfortable. 

But that... that wasn't Asgore's fault. None of this was.

Chara stepped forward, and kept moving, even when Asgore's eyes widened. They came to a stop right in front of him, and sank gracefully to their knees, just staying in front of him, not making another move.

The large goat monster trembled, slightly. He reached out, before hesitating for a moment.

"May I...?" he asked awkwardly, arms hanging uselessly in the air.

Chara cracked a grin, and nodded, inching just that little bit closer to him. Asgore enveloped them in a soft embrace, clutching them to his chest. Chara could hear the way his breath hitched, and small tears dripped onto their head. 

They didn't let it bother them, merely wrapping their arms around him in return. They didn't have enough reach to get very far, but they did their best. Asgore seemed to appreciate it, certainly, and he rubbed a giant, fuzzy hand against their back.

Chara's eyes fluttered closed for a second, but they regained control of themself quickly. They couldn't afford to act too soft now. They couldn't afford to get attached.

After allowing themself to have that one final moment of weakness, Chara pulled away. They had to get moving, and Asgore should go and heal himself before his wounds got any worse. They... felt a little bad about doing that to him, but considering that he had been trying to goad them into killing him the whole time, they thought they had at least a little bit of an excuse.

Asgore pulled back, resting his hands on their shoulders.

"I should go," he said, swallowing thickly. He looked like he really didn't want to. "I wish you all the best, child. And know this... Should you get to the end of this journey, and find that you cannot bring yourself to complete it, you can always return."

Chara froze, eyes widening. Was he... really saying what they thought he was saying?

Asgore smiled at them, even though he still had tears streaming down his fur. "You can always come back, my child. I promise, I will open the door for you."

Chara could only nod, still stunned. Asgore gave them one last kind smile, before he gently stepped around them, and made his way back down the hall.

Chara watched him go, mind reeling. Somehow, they wanted to reach out. They wanted to stay here, with him.

But they couldn't do that now. Not only because it would be really awkward, considering what had just transpired, but also because Chara wasn't the type to accept that. If they gave in, followed Asgore home like a nervous stray, they would never be able to respect themself. They had to at least  _ try. _

And besides, the Ruins were very small, for all that it was the broken echo of a long-lost city. Chara wanted to see what the rest of the Underground was like, too.

So, they turned to the Ruins door, ignoring the way that their heart was aching. Asgore had said that they could come back, and for some crazy reason...

Chara actually believed him.

...

When they managed to shoulder their way through the surprisingly heavy exit, Chara found themself surrounded by snow.

How peculiar! Chara's lips twitched, trying to hold back a grin as they gazed out onto the beautiful sight of white-topped trees and freshly fallen snow.

They weren't even close to being dressed properly for this occasion, seeing as they were wearing shorts and all, but they planned to enjoy it for as long as they could. Snow was hardly a rarity in Ebott, but it  _ was _ rare for them to be able to find the time to take advantage of it.

Most of the time, Chara was too worried about how things were going at home, or if the kids at school would try and tease them. 'Try' being the key word there, since Chara usually had a knife on them, and was also usually quite angry. It really only took one near-stabbing event for dumb brats to decide that it really wasn't worth the effort.

Still, they were excited. They stepped forward without a second thought, stomping their sneakers on the snow with relish. The snow made a very satisfying crunching sound under their feet as they began to walk down the path, heading towards a distant bridge.

Luckily, it was pretty much just a straight shot down there, so Chara didn't have to worry about getting lost or anything, but it was still a long walk.

They kept up, not quite running, since they didn't want to waste any more energy than they needed to, but hurrying nonetheless. At one point, Chara jumped over a large branch that was laying in the road, ignoring it and continuing on their way.

They would never have been able to lift it, anyway, so -

C R A C K !

Chara's eye widened, and they spun around, looking frantically to see what had made that sound. It had gone off like a gunshot! What could have possibly...

The branch was broken. And not broken down the middle, or anything reasonable like that. No, it was completely  _ shattered.  _

Okay,  _ that _ was deliberate. Chara quickly pulled their knife out, glancing around suspiciously. Someone was trying to pull a fast one on them, trying to intimidate them.

That was the only explanation...! Right?

But after a moment of observation, Chara didn't see anything. They didn't hear anything, either - just the same ambient sound as before. Wind rustling through the trees, the faint sound of birdsong in the distance...

There was nothing. Nothing that they could decipher, anyway. Maybe... Maybe they were misunderstanding something? That had to be it. The branch must have been more brittle than they thought. Maybe an animal had messed with it, and gotten scared off by the noise of it breaking.

Chara turned around, feeling a bit more calm now that they had rationalized the event in their mind, but even as they kept walking down the path, they kept their knife out. If they were wrong, then they didn't want to get caught off-guard.

They moved on, watching the snow give way under their feet, but they couldn't help the paranoia that was dogging at their heels. Chara felt like someone was following them, or something.

Which was ridiculous. Every time they glanced back they didn't see anything, and they certainly didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. It was just a feeling. And, well, Chara had good instincts and usually trusted them, but they couldn't help but feel out of sorts in this situation.

So much had happened since they woke up - of course they would feel jumpy. Especially since Asgore seemed so utterly convinced that any monsters out here were just waiting for a human to pass through so that they could kill 'em off.

Of course they would be unnerved.

So, it was totally okay for Chara to hurry up a little bit. J-Just in case, of course.

Chara could hear their breath quickening, even as they tried to seem unaffected. Behind them, they heard the sound of footsteps, but there was never anyone there.

They weren't really  _ that _ crazy, were they? Sure, they seemed to go into some kind of psychotic state where they attacked people all willy-nilly and wandered up mountains without their knowledge, but they had never  _ actively hallucinated _ before.

...Had they? What if this whole thing was a hallucination, what if Chara was stuck drooling in a hospital bed somewhere?!

The thought nearly overwhelming them, Chara froze.

But they didn't mean to. Chara struggled to turn, to blink, to make themself do absolutely  _ anything, _ and they couldn't.

_ Oh fuck, _ they thought to themself,  _ is this how it starts? Is this where the psychosis sets in? _

"h u m a n . . . " came a deep voice from behind them, the steady sound of someone making their way through the snow approaching them. "shouldn't you know better than to walk straight into the monster's den?"

Suddenly, Chara calmed down. No, even more than that, they got  _ annoyed. _

They knew what this jackass was trying to do, but the phrase was 'straight into the lion's den', and the damn guy ended up living anyway, so it didn't really work as a threat.

This was just some joker who thought they could intimidate a little kid - yeah, haha, very funny. It would be even more funny when Chara stuck their knife right in-between the bastard's ribs.

The footsteps halted only a hair's breadth away from them, and Chara almost thought they could feel the warmth emanating from the monster against their back.

"not gonna respond...? that's fine, then. c'mon. turn around and shake my hand."

Chara spun around without their conscious input, barely resisting a flinch at the way their hand was jerked upwards.

A second later, there was another hand shaking their own - an incredibly thin hand... Almost bony, one could see. Chara glanced up.

And up, and up. Damn, what a tall bastard!

_ Ah, _ they noted dimly, their mind hazing with shock. No wonder this monster seemed thin.

He was an actual, literal skeleton. Hm. Seemed that their previous threat wouldn't matter too much to this guy.

"i'm papyrus," the talking halloween decoration said. "papyrus the skeleton. you may have heard of me, i'm very famous."

Chara just gave him a disgusted look, tearing their hand away the second they regained control of themself. They still had their knife in their other hand, but they kept it behind them for now. This guy didn't seem like he was planning to attack them right now, and the last thing they wanted was to  _ accidentally _ scare him into attacking.

No, if they wanted to scare him into attacking them, Chara damn well wanted it to be on purpose.

"planning on introducing yourself?" Papyrus asked, his voice colored with amusement in a way that made Chara scowl. He was treating them like a little kid!

They shook their head resolutely, crossing their arms over their chest.  _ No way. _ They didn't want to have any more contact with this guy than they needed to, and giving him their name definitely counted as a part of that.

"alright, alright." To Chara's disgruntlement, he seemed entirely unaffected by their blatant brush-off. Instead, he meandered past them, crossing the bridge and walking over to a small wooden station.

Chara followed him, for a lack of anything better to do, and watched with extremely judgmental eyes as he clambered over the counter and collapsed onto the chair inside. It looked comically small for his stature, and Chara couldn't help the snort of amusement that came when the whole thing wobbled dangerously, looking fit to collapse at any moment.

What the hell was it made out of, anyway? Cardboard?

On the side, written in, ironically, the papyrus font, someone had spray-painted the message 'property of papyrus, no girls allowed'. Three guesses as to who did that, and the first two don't count.

Once Papyrus had finally gotten himself situated, he let out a gusty sigh, shoving his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. He seemed like he was going to doze off for a moment, but he then turned to Chara, his faceplate moving in a way that made it seem like he was raising an eyebrow.

"you're still here? huh. well, welcome to snowdin forest, i guess." he said in a lazy drawl, not looking like he really cared all that much whether Chara felt welcome. "i can see that you're dressed for the occasion."

Chara's cheeks flushed, and they let out an angry puff of air, resisting the urge to hug themself for warmth. Yeah, they knew that it was dumb to wear shorts in what was essentially a permanent winter wonderland, but they hadn't known any better! It's not like Asgore had taken the time to warn them about that, for everything else that the guy did.

Besides, just because he was right didn't mean that he had to bring it up! Now Chara was tempted to just stab him on principle.

But, they supposed, it was a little bit too late for that. They had already put their knife away, for one, and it would also seem like an awful act of aggression to kill somebody just because they had made a (shitty) joke at your expense. 

Not that Chara was entirely opposed to acts of aggression, mind you. They simply preferred it to be on their own terms, not simply because they had acted stupidly and allowed themself to be taken over by their emotions.

Chara was a very reasonable child, despite everything. So, they decided, graciously, that they wouldn't kill Papyrus for this offense. But he was on thin ice.

Heh...  _ thin ice. _ Chara smirked, a bit proud of themself for that one. It wasn't often that they stumbled right into the perfect pun like that.

"heh, that's a nicer expression," Papyrus complimented, snapping Chara out of their (vaguely murderous) thoughts. "you don't look nearly as down, now."

Chara tilted their head to the side, frowning. 'Down'? When had they looked down? They weren't sad about anything. Well, they were a bit sad about Asgore, but that had been when they first left the Ruins, they felt much better now -

Hey, wait a second! Papyrus had been watching them!  _ He _ was the one who broke the branch, and made them feel all weird and paranoid!

Chara scowled, tempted to go for their knife just to get that smug look off of his face -

"PAPYRUS!!"

"oh, and here's the welcoming party," Papyrus commented, turning to gaze at another skeleton that was walking down the opposite way towards the two.

Chara's eyes widened and they took a step back, hand hovering over their knife for real this time. Just because Papyrus was relatively friendly (if also an asshole), it didn't mean that the other residents would be.

"hey sans," Papyrus said, waving lazily. He didn't react to Chara's movement, but they did notice the way he leaned out of his station to gain the other monster's attention. It probably wasn't for their benefit... But they did appreciate it all the same.

"BROTHER, YOU - " Sans began saying with an exasperated expression on his face, until he caught sight of Chara standing there, at the ready.

His eyelights widened for a moment, before abruptly shrinking. He smiled, and even though Chara thought it was an entirely genuine grin, something about it still set them on edge.

"A HUMAN! WOW, PAPYRUS, GREAT JOB!" he complimented, stepping forwards so that he was standing in front of Chara, and right next to where his brother was leaning against the counter of his station. "I ALWAYS KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU."

"yep," Papyrus said lazily, his eyelids (???) drifting shut. He was awoken a second later by Sans tapping vigorously on the top of his skull. "ugh... what is it?"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS?" Sans said in a scolding tone, hands on his hips. "NOW THAT WE HAVE FOUND A HUMAN, WE MUST BRING IT TO THE QUEEN!"

Chara stiffened. On the one hand, going straight to the queen would be helpful for getting closer to their goal. But on the other hand, by the way this guy was talking, Chara somehow got the feeling that he wasn't all that concerned about getting them there alive.

When Chara peeked over to the other skeleton brother, they barely stopped themself from wincing at the realization that he was observing them, and had clearly noticed their sneaky attempt to see what he was thinking.

His fuzzy white eyelights studied them for a long moment, and then he yawned.

"i dunno, bro," he said, voice slurring in a way that made it seem like he was still mere moments away from falling asleep. "that seems like a lot of work... and besides, the kid hasn't had a chance to try any of the puzzles yet."

"UGH!" Sans said out-loud, crossing his arms over the chest plate of his armor. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR PUZZLES RIGHT NOW, PAPY! WE SHOULD JUST TAKE IT TO THE QUEEN BEFORE IT HAS A CHANCE TO ESCAPE!"

_ I'm right here! _ Chara felt like shouting, and they might have if they had the ability. Instead, they were left to seethe in silent rage, hands shaking by their sides. Like they would even bother trying to sign to these bozos - they were so idiotic, there was no way they would ever understand. 

"that's not fair," Papyrus interjected, and Chara chanced another glance at him. 

He seemed fully awake for the first time they had seen him, and he wasn't even looking at Chara. Instead, he was frowning at his brother, seeming truly bothered by the subject they were discussing.

"they have to try the puzzles, it's tradition," he insisted. He actually stood up, shuffling out of the sentry station and moving in front of Chara in an almost protective manner.

Chara wasn't sure if they should be insulted or not. Didn't he understand that they could protect themself? Especially against some joker that was all bones.

Sans now looked even more exasperated than before, but he let out a grudging sigh and waved his hand as if to say 'go on'.

"ALRIGHT, FINE. I'LL ALLOW IT! BUT IF THEY GET PAST ALL THE PUZZLES, IT'S MY TURN!" he warned, and for the first time since the conversation started, he looked Chara dead in the eye.

His statement wasn't quite threatening, but it had the potential to be. Chara just stuck out their tongue at him, making him rear back, blinking in surprise.

Chara snorted, coming about as close as they could to a laugh - which came out as a horrible, rasping noise, sounding like they were trying to smother down the noise as much as possible. Or like someone had just attempted to strangle them, which wasn't too far off from the reality. 

When they managed to get themself back under control, they saw that both skeleton brothers were watching them in curiosity, making them flush in embarrassment. Chara scowled, gesturing for them to get on with it.

They would do these stupid puzzles - they would do it so well, in fact, that the skeletons would be completely blown away! So blown away that they would forget all about bringing Chara to the queen, and allow them to go on their way without conflict.

Chara was determined that they could do it.

...

_ Puzzles sucked. _ Chara changed their mind, they would rather deal with the moral quandary of wondering whether or not to murder the queen than deal with this.

Usually, Chara would have no problem saying that they were displeased - or, at least, throwing a huge tantrum until the person got the idea. But...

Papyrus was so  _ enthusiastic _ about it. It wasn't outward excitement, of course, since Papyrus seemed to be incapable of showcasing that much emotion without needing to take a nap afterwards, but it was in the little things.

Like the fact that he insisted Chara try every puzzle on their own, but was still willing to give (unhelpful, if well-meaning) hints any time they got stuck. Or how he would get genuinely upset if Sans ever tried to hurry them along or interfere in any way.

Apparently, Papyrus was the one who had made most of these puzzles, and Chara got the idea that he hadn't really had anyone to test them out on yet, and was therefore making the most out of this singularly unique opportunity. 

At the very least, Chara was able to get some joy out of the fact that Sans was hating this as much as they were. He put on a very brave face, of course, cheering his brother on at every opportunity, but whenever Papyrus turned his back, Sans would scrub his hands over his face and look very exhausted. At one point, he had even confessed something to them.

"I KNOW PAPY LOVES THESE, SO I NEVER SAY ANYTHING," he muttered to them, when Papyrus had moved ahead to check over the next puzzle. "BUT I REALLY FIND THESE THINGS TO BE A HASSLE. HONESTLY, IT WOULD BE EASIER TO JUST FIGHT YOUR OPPONENT AND GET IT OVER WITH, INSTEAD OF TRYING TO BORE THEM INTO GIVING UP."

Chara just shrugged. They didn't really know how to respond to that - they agreed, to a certain degree, but they also liked Papyrus a lot more than they liked Sans, so they didn't necessarily want to take his side.

Thankfully, Sans didn't seem to actually care much about their opinion. He only  _ really _ seemed to care about Papyrus.

Seriously, all the taller skeleton had to do was call out to have him come running, and Chara sniggered every time they saw it happen, even as something inside of them burned in jealousy.

They had never had a relationship like that, with anyone. Even when Mother was still around, she and Father had never been quite so attentive.

Chara wondered if that was what it was like to have a sibling... It seemed nice.

The thought made them scowl, trying to shake it off. Like they cared about something like that.

Eventually, they managed to make their way past all of Papyrus's puzzles with minimal difficulty. Surprisingly, he didn't seem too upset about it - if anything, he was thrilled.

"didn't even think about going through that entrance..." he mumbled to themself, going over the parameters of the puzzle Chara had just finished. "...should adjust the weight requirements for the panels, too..."

"WELL, THAT'S THE END OF IT!" Sans said, sounding entirely too cheerful. "READY TO FIGHT, HUMAN?"

Chara, shivering as they desperately tried to pull their shorts down a little farther and insulate themself against the cold, nodded. They weren't a baby - they could handle this fight, and then they would go get some real pants!

Sans was a little bit taller than them, actually... Maybe they could steal his pants. Y'know, as spoils of war, or whatever. Did monsters do that? Chara wanted to, in any case.

However, despite his proud challenge, Sans didn't attack them straight away. Instead, he merely stared at them for a long moment.

Chara stared back, scowling in confusion. They didn't notice how Papyrus's mumblings had tapered off behind them.

Suddenly, Sans let out a huge, exasperated sigh.

"FINE!" he said, throwing his hands up as he turned and stomped away. "WE WILL HAVE OUR MIGHTY BATTLE MOMENTARILY, HUMAN. FOR NOW, PREPARE AS BEST YOU CAN. I WILL BE WAITING AT THE EDGE OF SNOWDIN TOWN!"

Chara watched him go, utterly bemused. They... hadn't said anything?? Why would Sans suddenly give up like that?

While pondering this, they sneezed loudly, and from just behind them, Papyrus chuckled. His large, bony hand settled on their head, gently ruffling their hair and making Chara scrunch their nose as they batted it away.

"take it easy, kid," Papyrus said, walking around them and heading in the same direction as Sans. "go hit up the inn. take a rest, get some food, warm up, and then go have an epic cage match with my bro, okay?"

Chara's fists clenched, but for once, they managed to stop themself from lashing out. Despite the fact that they got the feeling they were the butt of some unknown joke, they didn't want to start anything right now. Papyrus was right -  _ unfortunately. _ They were cold, tired, and hungry. It was best that they took care of that before they started trying to fight anybody, even a beanpole skeleton who looked like he would topple over with the slightest breeze. 

Up ahead of them was a long stone bridge, what the skeleton brothers must have crossed to get into town. Chara sure hoped so, anyway, considering that they had no idea what they would do otherwise.

Thankfully, their assumption was indeed correct, and as they crossed over, they caught sight of a sign reading 'WELCOME TO SNOWDIN!' in bright, cheerful letters.

Chara couldn't help their smile as they wandered into the town, taking in the sights. Man, this place looked like it had popped right out of a christmas special. 

There was even a large christmas tree in the center of town! Chara hurried over to get a closer look, entranced by the beautiful lights hung up around it.

There was gold and silver tinsel, and tons of presents under the tree. Chara kind of wanted to look and see if any of the presents had their name on it, but they weren't that stupid. If even their Father wouldn't get them presents during the holidays, then why the hell would some random town full of monsters do it?

After all, Chara was still vaguely expecting the monsters to try and attack them at any time, so presents really weren't part of the deal.

Some of the monsters actually were glancing over at them, they observed, but after a quick glimpse of their sweater, everyone just went back to what they were doing.

Hm... Strange.

Chara dismissed it. As long as it didn't become an issue, well, it wasn't an issue, right? Though it was about time to move on.

Regretfully, they stepped back from the tree, only to stumble right into someone who had been standing behind them.

"O-Oh, sorry!" the monster said, sheepishly helping Chara steady themself.

Chara glanced at him, and stopped short.  _ He looked just like Asgore. _

He was another goat monster, a couple of inches shorter than Chara. He may not have had Asgore's impressive beard or horns, but Chara could see the older monster's reflection in the way this monster smiled - soft and gentle, just like that other idiot.

"Are you okay?" he said worriedly, watching Chara like he was actually concerned about them or something. "I'm sorry about that! My poncho is still a bit too big for me, so I'm tripping over it, like, all the time."

Chara's hands moved up without their conscious input, forming signs before they could manage to stop themself.

*Then why do you still wear it?*

The young goat monster seemed surprised for a moment, and then he snorted in an adorable, goat-like bleat.

"I'm gonna grow into it someday!" he said good-naturedly. "Besides, I like it! Kinda makes me feel like I have a cape, or wings, or something... y'know?"

No, Chara did not actually know, but they were willing to take his word for it. In fact, they were so stunned by this turn of events that they didn't even bother to ask how this kid could understand them when Asgore couldn't.

"Oh!" he said, eyes lighting up as if he had just remembered something. "Man, I just realized that I never introduced myself!"

He held out his hand, still smiling that same gentle, kind, stupid smile.

"I'm Asriel. It's nice to meet you!"

Chara shook his hand, feeling rather... numb. Here was someone who could actually understand them - shouldn't they be glad? But instead, they felt all mixed-up inside. They had no idea what to feel. They had no idea what to do.

Well, that wasn't quite true. There was one thing they knew how to do.

*C H A R A , * they fingerspelled, making sure that Asriel would be able to understand what they were saying.

"C-Chara?" Asriel said, squinting, as if that would help him with his pronunciation. "Your name is Chara?"

Chara nodded proudly, for some reason feeling like they were happy that he got so easily. 

"Chara," Asriel said again, tasting the way the name sounded on his tongue. "Okay, Chara! It's really nice to meet you. Sorry about accidentally bumping into you, but I'm actually a little glad! That means that we got the chance to meet, and become friends!"

He beamed at them, utterly genuine in his happiness in a way that almost made Chara want to shy away.

"I have to get going, but I hope we can meet up again and talk longer!" Asriel said, waving excitedly as he ran away. He only managed to take a few steps before falling flat on his face, but he recovered admirably quick, shooting Chara a quick thumbs up as he went on his way.

Chara sniggered at the sight, waving back to him. They... liked Asriel. In the same way that they liked Asgore, and Papyrus, and maybe even Sans (a little). 

How utterly delightful this was turning out to be - even with the thought of a horrible, gory death awaiting them!

Unknown to both children, underneath their similarly-patterned sweaters, a pair of identical lockets seemed to grow just the tiniest bit warmer.

...

Chara eventually did stop by the Inn, once they had explored everything to see what the town had to offer. The dogs running everything were very nice, if excitable, and Chara got the chance to drink another one of their hot chocolates from the Ruins, and try out a 'Hush Puppy' that they bought at the store. They had no idea what it was, but it was good.

After a while, they even stopped shivering! It only took a few hours until they felt like they were prepared to get moving, heading towards the edge of town. They still hadn't gotten new pants, but the dog in the store, named Dogamy, was kind enough to tell them that Snowdin was the coldest place in the Underground, and longer pants would actually be more of a detriment than anything. So, they decided to go without, and just try to hurry out of Snowdin as fast as possible.

On the way out of the town, they spotted a very interesting house. It was the largest one in town, and had christmas decorations and a large pirate flag strung up. Just by following along with the nature of how these things went, Chara got the feeling that it was probably the skeleton brothers house. 

They were tempted to stop in, see if Papyrus was home and get the chance to have the drop on him for the first time, but they figured that they had kept Sans waiting for long enough.

Directly next to the skeleton brothers house was a floating star. Chara had seen them before a few times, enough that they figured they were some kind of feature of the Underground - like, a common decoration? But they still didn't know anything about it.

Curious, they walked over and tried to touch it. Their hand went right through, and Chara blinked in confusion. The thing didn't shine brighter, or become warmer, or anything like that. It hadn't reacted to their touch at all. Hm... Weird. 

Well, a decoration was a decoration, even if Chara couldn't understand the appeal. They stopped messing with it after a moment, deciding to continue on.

Past the house, the trail began to fill up with an eerie sort of fog. Chara figured it must have been from the heat of Waterfall meeting Snowdin's cold, like Dogamy had told them.

Just a little bit deeper in that fog, waiting like he'd told them he would be, was Sans the Skeleton.

"FINALLY!" he exclaimed as they approached, hands on his hips. "TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH. WHAT, DID YOU GET LOST?"

Chara scowled. They had things they needed to do first - it wasn't like they were going to drop everything just so that they could go fight some bozo! 

"WELL, IT DOESN'T MATTER," Sans dismissed, and gifted them with a huge grin that seemed to take the edge off his expression, and just made him look quite earnest in a way that Chara wasn't expecting. "ARE YOU READY? THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN!"

Chara blinked, having thought he would be acting a bit more aggressive, based on his earlier behavior, but they nodded, giving him a tentative smile. Yes, they were ready.

This time, they left their knife firmly where it was. Sans looked a lot more fragile than Asgore, to be honest, and Chara didn't want to kill him accidentally. There might be a time when they would have to make that choice, but they didn't want it to be taken away from them by a freak accident. 

Sans didn't waste another second - his right hand, glowing blue, snapped itself up, and Chara was suddenly dodging bones everywhere. 

They managed to make it through the first round with only a couple of hits, which didn't do much more than sting. Apparently, while Sans could make a hell of a lot of attacks at one time, they didn't do too much damage.

Chara was  _ definitely _ okay with that.

And so it continued on like that, Chara trying frantically to remember the patterns of the bone attacks while Sans laughed loudly to himself at the other end of the clearing. Chara was reminded of how Papyrus had acted about his puzzles, and got the feeling that Sans hadn't been able to really fight anyone recently.

Well, they were happy to oblige!

Chara began taunting him, sticking their tongue out and making rude gestures whenever the wave of bones slowed down, and Sans responded in kind, his excited grin growing wider as he threw everything he had at them.

The sweater-wearing child was just beginning to have fun, thinking that they might be able to get out of this without having another incident, when everything suddenly went wrong.

That strange feeling from before caught them again, and Chara suddenly couldn't move. Seeing the flabbergasted (and slightly fearful) look on their face, Sans let out a booming laugh.

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE PREPARED, HUMAN?" he made a tsking noise, wagging his gloved finger at them. "IF YOU WERE TRULY PREPARED, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THIS - MY SPECIAL ATTACK! YOU'RE BLUE NOW!"

Chara scowled at him, struggling to just move already, and his smile only grew.

"AND WHEN YOU'RE BLUE," he said teasing, stretching out the suspense. "I CAN DO  _ THIS!" _

And suddenly everything turned upside down, Chara letting out a strangled rasping noise as they struggled to get their bearings.

But it was too late - by the time Chara finally managed to lift their head and look down to where Sans was still standing, the wave of bones was already approaching.

Limbs still feeling heavy, and head dizzy from suddenly having their gravity reversed, Chara could do nothing but tense in preparation as the bones hit.

A brief blast of PAIN,  _ oh god, _ it didn't hurt like this before, oh god -

And then,

f a l l i n g . . . 

...

Chara woke in that strange, dark place from before, and they woke absolutely  _ furious. _

They should have known better! They got too excited, starting think of this as something like a game, like the two of them were  _ friends _ and he wouldn't really hurt them.

How naive. How utterly  _ stupid. _

Of course Sans didn't care about them. He called them an 'it', for fuck's sake! He only cared about delivering their corpse to the queen, the bastard.

Fuck, when Chara got out of here, they were going to give that boney douchebag a piece of their mind - !

But before they could muster up the proper energy to get back there and inform Sans of exactly why it wasn't a good idea to mess with little kids that had knives, they heard the sound of someone crying.

Head whipping around, they saw that it was the blind kid from before. 

They were... they were  _ crying _ to themself, little gasping sobs, and muttering something under their breath. For a long moment, Chara hesitated, looking around to see if the others were there, but they saw nothing. Nothing but black.

So, Chara marched up to the other kid, scowling.

The kid stumbled to their feet, having obviously heard Chara's footsteps. "S-Stay back!"

Chara just rolled their eyes, and poked the kid hard in their chest, making them flinch.

"What do you want from me?! Go away!"

Chara had to physically restrain themself from letting out an explosive sigh, merely grabbing the kid's hand and tracing letters on it like they had seen that other kid doing before.

_ No. _

Chara watched their face go through a complicated round of emotions, before they seemingly settled on anger.

"No? What the hell, just leave me alone!" they snapped, scowling fiercely. But then they paused, seeming to think deeply about something. "Is... is that you? Other me?"

Chara shook their head, before remembering that they couldn't see it. They felt a little impressed, though. It would make sense for it to be the other kid, since Chara had never interacted with them in this way before.

Still, they traced their reply.  _ No. _

Chara could see the exact moment they made the realization.

"You're... the other one," they said, their hands trembling faintly. "The one who tried to - "

_ Yes, _ Chara traced impatiently, wanting to get all this bullshit out of the way already. This was what they got for trying to help someone.

"Um, okay then. Is there anyone else, I, I mean, are the others here as well?" the kid said, clearly swallowing their discomfort.

Chara went to say their answer, but before they could get out more than a single letter, they were cut off.

"Um, just squeeze my hand once for yes, and twice for no."

Chara did nothing for a long moment, seriously contemplating just dropping their hand and walking away. Chara did  _ not _ take orders. But at the same time, Chara never liked to leave things unfinished, and they had already jumped straight into this. Might as well stick it out to the end. Besides, that actually was an easier way to do it, though they hated to admit it.

They squeezed twice, for no.

"Okay, okay," the child breathed out, obviously taking comfort in the returned stability. "Do you remember what happened right before you got here?"

Chara scowled. Oh,  _ yes _ they did. And when they got out of here, that smiley fuck was gonna get it. One squeeze, for yes.

"Okay, good," they murmured, seeming deep in thought. They hesitated, biting their lip, but must have decided to just go for it. "Before I woke up here, I re-remember being h-hurt. Really,  _ really _ badly. Did something similar happen to you?"

Reluctantly, Chara squeezed once for yes. They still couldn't believe they'd allowed Sans to get the drop on them like that, almost literally.

"So it seems like that's the catalyst," they mused, seeming almost entirely calm now. Chara was glad - they really didn't want to deal with anymore crying. "We first woke up here after falling down the mountain. Maybe the impact was enough to kill us, and we all came here instead? But why  _ here...? _ And how were we then able to return to the mountain...?"

Chara blinked. They... actually hadn't thought of that. Interesting.

"My friend, Flowey - do you know him?" Chara tilted their head to the side, squeezing twice for no. They had never heard of that name before. "Well, he told me about a special power he has, to turn back time in certain increments. That's probably connected to this, right?"

Chara squeezed once. That sounded about right, with all the bullshit that had been happening. 

"Oh, I... don't know your name," the kid said, sounding rather embarrassed. As they very well should!

Chara traced their name along the other's palm, hoping that they would get the gist of it.

"Chara," they said, thankfully getting it without any issue. And they even pronounced it right! Kudos. "Your name is Chara?"

Chara squeezed once, for yes.

And the child smiled at them, expression happy and genuine in a way Chara had never seen on their own face. "Hello, Chara. I'm Frisk. It's nice to meet you."

Chara could only stare at them for a moment, unsure of how to respond, before they tentatively squeezed their hand. Yes. It was nice to meet them.

"Do you have any idea how to get out of here?" Frisk asked.

Chara brightened, squeezing once for yes. Finally, something that they knew that the other didn't!

"What, you do?" They sounded so surprised.

Chara squeezed once, but did it with a scowl on their face.

"Okay, okay," Frisk said, their lips twitching with a reluctant smile. "Can you tell me how? As simply as possible?"

Chara traced the answer on their palm, trying to be straightforward. 

W A N T. You had to want it.

"You... have to want it?" Frisk said slowly, apparently trying to wrap their head around the concept.

Chara shrugged, squeezing their hand once. They didn't really know how better to explain it with their current communication barrier. 

"Got it," Frisk muttered, closing their eyes with a determined expression on their face. "Are you ready to try?"

Chara smirked, squeezing once before the floor opened up beneath them, and they fell through, just like before. They weren't worried about this kid anymore. As long as they kept that look on their face, they would be just fine.

...

They slammed back into themself directly in front of the skeleton brothers house, and they were  _ livid. _ Sure, their time in the darkness with Frisk had actually done wonders to calm their temper, but now they were back, and just looking at this stupid house was enough to make them want to stab somebody.

They heard movement coming from inside, like someone was about to open the door, but Chara didn't care. They took off in a sprint, heading for where Sans was likely still waiting for them.

They were gonna give this jerk a piece of their mind, just like they said they would!

It only took a moment until Sans was back in view, and he looked a little... different from before. If Chara wasn't so hyper-focused on him, they probably wouldn't have noticed it, but Sans' grin was somehow strained.

"A-AH," he said, which was enough of a difference from before that Chara actually slowed their assault, narrowing their eyes at him suspiciously. "SO, HUMAN, YOU'VE ARRIVED! HOW... WONDERFUL! ARE YOU READY TO HAVE AN AMAZING BATTLE WITH THE AMAZING SANS?"

Chara almost nodded, wanting to get revenge for the humiliation they had suffered before, but before they could do anything, Papyrus had appeared in front of them.

_ Literally _ \- Chara hadn't even blinked before he was simply there, popping up without any warning. Chara reeled back, and Sans too looked startled.

"P-PAPY?" he said, taking a step back himself. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? I THOUGHT YOU WERE AT THE HOUSE!"

"i was," he said evenly, sticking his hands in his pockets. But even though his posture seemed nonchalant, he never moved from his place in front of Chara. "but then i saw the human walk by, and i figured i would come witness your amazing battle. is there a problem with that?"

"I, NO OF COURSE NOT," Sans said, sounding like a strange mix of ashamed and guilty. "I JUST... THE HUMAN AND I WERE ABOUT TO DO BATTLE, AND YOU DO NOT GENERALLY LIKE WITNESSING SUCH A THING."

"first time for everything," Papyrus shrugged.

Chara was stunned. What the hell was this? What were they supposed to take from this? It almost seemed like the brothers were arguing about something. Arguing about  _ them? _

At the thought, something awful and ugly began to bubble up in their chest. No one should argue over Chara. That just lead to pain, it wasn't worth it - they weren't worth it!

And they couldn't handle it.

Before either skeleton brother could react, Chara tore off, running forward. They dodged around Papyrus's reaching hand, and managed to get past Sans before he could use that weird magic on them again to stop them.

"kid, wait - !"

"HUMAN, STOP! THAT IS WHERE ALPHYS - !"

But Chara didn't care, wasn't listening. They kept running, their head aching as they tried to just  _ get away. _

A second later, they crossed the border into Waterfall, and they collapsed against the damp wall with a heap. Shaky, rasped wheezes were escaping their throat, and Chara brought their hands up to hide their wide, wide, wide smile.

Fuck, how funny! Wasn't this just hilarious? Chara ruined everything! Chara was the reason two brothers that had obviously loved each other so dearly were fighting, Chara was the reason for everything!

How  _ hilarious! _

They were nearly spasming with the force of their laughter, that same old hysteria creeping up on them.

_ How funny, how funny, how funny! _

Chara laughed until their throat hurt, and then they laughed some more, wondering if they could get themself to start coughing up blood, like had sometimes happened in the past. They would deserve it! They  _ did _ deserve it!

At this point, Chara just wanted to -

"Hey, hey, it's alright," someone said, crouching near them. Chara's vision was blurry through the tears they hadn't even noticed they were shedding, but they were still distantly grateful that this person hadn't tried to touch them. "Take a deep breath, okay?"

The person made exaggerated breaths, and Chara found themself following along without their conscious input, making stuttering, ugly sounds as they tried to just  _ breathe. _

"That's it, you're doing great," the person coaxed, and it almost made Chara want to start laughing again. As if they had ever done anything good, even breathing!

But it did seem to work, and before long Chara found their sight clearing long enough to see exactly who was speaking to them. It was Asriel, and Chara immediately found themself ashamed at being seen by him in such a moment of weakness.

He didn't seem to think that it was shameful, though, because he just smiled at them patiently.

"How are you doing?" he asked, and though his voice was gentle, it wasn't pitying, which Chara found themself pathetically grateful for.

They raised their hands to sign, feeling like they hadn't done that it a million years. *Better. Thank you.*

Asriel beamed, looking so utterly proud of them that Chara almost wanted to be sick. "That's awesome! I'm so glad to hear it. And, wow, howdy! Didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon!"

Chara almost signed back to him, before the incredulousness set it.  _ Howdy? _ Did a goat in a poncho really just say  _ howdy _ to them?

This time, their rasping laughter was real, without any of that same hysteria in it, and thought Asriel seemed to panic for a moment, Chara smiled at him as they reached out and grasped his shoulders.

*Thank you,* they signed, eyes crinkling under the force of their grin. *Thank you, thank you, thank you!*

Asriel, seeming to realize that they weren't falling back into another attack, laughed along with them. He didn't know exactly why they were suddenly in such a better mood, but the mere joy in their expression was enough to make him brighten up.

"You're welcome!" he chirped, looking absurdly proud of himself. "Do you think you're well enough to stand?"

Chara nodded, still giggling to themself. Asriel extended a hand to help them up, and they took it gladly, getting to their feet.

Asriel wrapped a fuzzy arm around their shoulder, moving his poncho so that it wouldn't be in the way. "C'mon! I know all the coolest spots in Waterfall, since I come here all the time to escape the guards - uh, I mean, to get some time away from my parents."

Asriel laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head at the judging look Chara gave him, but they refrained from commenting this once.

Asriel had just done something amazing, after all. They could forgive it this once. In fact, as they began to make their way through Waterfall's murky depths, Chara found themself smiling for real, so utterly relieved in a way that they couldn't quite explain.

No one had ever been able to calm them down like that before. Whenever Chara had one of those attacks, it always turned violent - against themself, or someone else. Nobody had ever been able to just sit down with Chara and help them breathe, not even Ms. Linda.

Certainly their Father never had, though they honestly weren't sure whether he had ever witnessed one of their attacks in the first place. They had certainly had enough of them in the house that he should have noticed, but that meant nothing.

Still, they were so grateful for Asriel in this moment. Who knew what would have happened if someone else had come across them?

A little ways away, the tall grass rustled ominously. There was someone watching, and waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> skelebros: who's ready for happy fun adventures??  
> chara: sure  
> chara: *dies*  
> chara: you guys are horrible, filthy liars
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	8. and of all you see

From a young age, Chara had known one thing - if you wanted something done right, you had to do it yourself. They had learned this when their parents had initially neglected them, only to become extremely overprotective once the knowledge of their 'condition' came out. They had learned this at school, when the teachers were so utterly incompetent that it was actually easier for Chara to just find the answer to their questions in a library book.

And they were relearning it now, as Temmie squealed in fear and tried to hide behind Chara's legs.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Chara turned around to face Asgore, trying their very best not to react when he leaned down to bare his fangs directly in their face. 

"Terribly sorry," Chara said politely, remembering their manners even in such a terrifying situation. Not that Chara was  _ scared, _ of course, because Chara didn't get scared. But it was the principle of the thing. "We didn't mean to disturb. We just wanted the keys, so that we could leave the Ruins. We'll get out of your way, now."

They attempted to sidestep the large monster, but weren't terribly surprised when he thrusted out a hand to stop them.

"So..." he rumbled, bright red eyes piercing through them in a way that they might have found intimidating if they didn't  _ also _ have red eyes. "You think that you can come in here, rummage through my belongings, steal things, and then simply leave?"

Chara paused, wondering if there was really a right answer here. Because, well, they obviously did.

"We didn't mean anything by it, r-really!" Temmie finally spoke up, moving slightly in front of Chara and apparently trying to seem brave even with the way they were trembling. 

Chara found it oddly endearing, despite the fact that it was entirely useless. Hm. Perhaps they were going soft.

"Please let us pass," Chara said firmly, looking Asgore in the eyes without fear. "I am more than happy to return the keys that we borrowed, but I would prefer to do so with the assurance that we will still be allowed to leave afterwards.”

"And the tea?" Asgore said, looming over them threateningly. "What of the tea you stole from my kitchen?"

Chara's heart skipped a beat. Had he been watching them that whole time? How? Chara had never noticed a thing...

"We didn't steal any tea!" Temmie insisted, their indignant feelings at the accusation allowing them to push past their earlier fear. "Why would we?"

Asgore merely raised a brow, gazing at Chara, who nearly started sweating at the scrutiny.

Okay, sure, they had stolen some tea, but they hadn't expected to be called out on it! And while, normally, honesty was the best policy...

Well, Asgore clearly already knew that they had stolen it, so they didn't think they had much to lose at this point. 

Looking Asgore dead in the eye, Chara said; "I have never stolen anything, ever, in my entire life. Honestly, I'm rather offended that you would even insinuate that."

There was a beat of silence, and Temmie looked stricken.

"Oh my god we're going to die," they whimpered, crouching down closer to the floor and putting their paws over their eyes in preparation of the final blow.

Instead of a blast of fire or anything like that, however, Asgore just let out a booming laugh, nearly knocking Chara off their feet with the force of it. 

"Just for that, I'll let you keep it!" he said, still shaking the floor with his laughter. "That's the most entertainment I've had in centuries!"

"Wonderful," Chara said, wondering just how far they could push this, and finding themself willing to go farther than was perhaps recommended. "If we had, in fact, stolen any of your tea, I'm sure we would be very grateful for your kindness."

Temmie, still convinced that they were going to be brutally murdered at any moment, let out a strangled squeak.

Asgore's mouth twitched, moving in a strange way that made it seem like he was almost smiling. He seemed like the type who must have smiled a lot, before all this mess happened. Chara could see it even in his eyes - the way they lit up with suppressed mirth, and made him seem surprisingly jovial.

Suddenly, Chara found their shoulders relaxing. How could they have ever been scared of this man? He was no more threatening than Temmie. Well, if one could excuse the fact that Asgore had actually threatened them, which Temmie had never done.

Speaking of Temmie...

Chara bent down, wordlessly pulling the stuffed toy into their arms. Temmie went willingly, burying their face in Chara's neck as they tried to stop their shaking. Chara soothed them absently, and glanced up to see Asgore watching the two of them with a strange look in his eyes.

He seemed almost... regretful.

"We really should be going," Chara said, gesturing towards the stairs. They were still locked, but Asgore walked over with a noncommittal grunt and simply yanked the locks off the chain, breaking the whole thing into pieces.

Chara watched, eyes widening in surprise, but Asgore did nothing more except wave a large, furry hand at them.

"Go," he said gruffly. "I am feeling merciful, and hardly in the mood to entertain you today."

Chara merely nodded, deciding to get moving before he could change his mind, but he called out to them at the last second.

"Child... Promise me one thing," he said seriously, and Chara turned to consider him, watching carefully.  _ "Survive. _ Get to the end of this journey. Kill the Queen, free the human souls, and bring an end to the misery that has plagued the Underground. Monsters have suffered for too long under this senseless violence. It is about time that we finish things."

_ By doing more violence? _ Chara thought to themself, though they refrained from saying it out loud. They weren't feeling quite  _ that _ risky today, despite their earlier performance.

So, they just nodded, trusting him to understand what they were conveying.

Chara did not want to kill. That was dirty, and below them. But they would. Chara was enough of a hypocrite to know that about themself.

Asgore looked away, and he moved past the staircase, into the living room. It seemed that he had nothing more to say to them.

Chara... wasn't sure how they felt about it. This whole encounter had gone nothing like they thought it would, and they weren't quite sure whether or not that was a good thing. Well, despite everything, it was how things had gone, so they would just have to move on.

Temmie still cradled in their arms, Chara made their way down the long staircase to a dark, rather unsettling hallway. They were almost there.

"Why was he so adamant about me killing the Queen?" Chara murmured to Temmie, who perked up an ear. "And all that about souls... Why was it so important?"

"Souls are what keep the monsters trapped Underground," Temmie answered, shifting to a better position in their arms. "With seven human souls, the barrier can be broken, and monsters can walk freely under the sun once more. There are six human souls being kept in the palace right now, and yours is the last one that they need. That's why a lot of monsters will be so committed to, well..."

"Trying to kill me?" Chara supplied wryly.

Temmie let out a helpless little laugh. "Yeah, I suppose."

There was silence, then, as the two children traveled further down the corridor. It seemed to be taking forever. 

"He's just tired, I think," Temmie said suddenly, making Chara glance down at them in curiosity. "Asgore, I mean. To answer your previous question... He's  _ tired. _ He doesn't want to fight anymore. And if the monsters get your soul, then they will use it to break the barrier and wage war on humanity. That's all they've dreamed about for centuries now - getting revenge on the surface people that hurt them so dearly."

Chara chewed on their lip for a moment, unsure of how to respond. They didn't want to sound insensitive, but...

"Forgive me," they began slowly, piecing together the words they wanted to use, "but that seems rather...  _ wasteful, _ I suppose is the word. To the surface world, monsters are nothing but a fairy tale. No one believes that they truly exist. No humans have magic. To dream of waging a war against a people that died out a thousand years ago... Isn't that rather - "

"Pathetic?" Temmie laughed bitterly.

Chara frowned, shaking their head.

"I was thinking, 'sad'," they corrected quietly. "It would be a truly senseless conflict. And one that the monsters would not win."

Temmie stiffened. "What, you think we're not strong enough?"

Chara winced, having actually forgotten for a moment that Temmie was  _ also _ a monster. "No, nothing like that. It's simply that, well, just from what you have told me, monsters have a fairly low population. And the country that this mountain resides on is not the only one to have humans. Even if monsters managed to overpower the people of this country somehow, there would be billions more, ready to take their place."

"Billions?" Temmie squeaked out, seeming honestly stunned at the number. "And they would all fight against us?"

"Humans infect this planet like insects," Chara said humorlessly, their lips curling up into a mean little smile. "And while they might not all want to fight you, collectively, they will. Humans hate losing, after all."

"You're human too, y'know," Temmie said, peering up at them with a deciphering look on their face. "Why do you talk about them like that?"

"I do it  _ because _ I am human," Chara clarified, sure that the grin on their face had stretched to truly horrifying lengths. "Nobody would know better than me. And besides..."

They found themself at a huge, purple door, and easily shoved it open, stepping out into the light beyond the tunnel.

"I, too, hate losing."

...

On the other side, there was snow. While a part of Chara wanted to stay and enjoy the sights for a moment, drink in the beautiful scenery around them, the more intelligent part of them knew better.

They couldn't afford to stay out in the open like this, especially when their clothing made them stick out from the almost entirely white surroundings like a sore thumb.

"Do you know where to go from here?" Chara prompted Temmie, who seemed to be in deep thought after Chara's last remark.

They jolted, snapping themself back into awareness. "O-Oh, yes! Kinda."

"Kinda?" Chara prompted, raising a brow.

Temmie chuckled nervously, letting their bangs hang over their eyes. "Well, I do know the area a little, but I didn't spend much time here. The town up ahead, Snowdin, is where most of the Royal Guard hangs out, and you wanna stay away from those guys as much as possible, y'know?"

"I see," Chara narrowed their eyes, thinking this through. "Is there a way to get around Snowdin, so that we can pass into the next area without encountering the guard?"

It seemed reasonable enough, but Temmie immediately shook their head.

"Nope. There's a river surrounding Snowdin, and this forest. Unless you feel like swimming in fast-paced, arctic temperature waters, anyway." 

Chara winced. Okay, that was a last resort, then. 

"We might as well get moving then," they sighed, starting to go down the path. Thankfully, it was mostly straight, so they didn't have to worry about getting lost. "Perhaps we'll be able to keep out of the guards' way..."

"I can help with that!" Temmie chirped happily, looking proud to finally provide some help.

Chara smiled, gently stroking their head. Temmie perhaps wasn't very helpful, but they were quite cute, and that made up for a lot of things in Chara's opinion.

"Thanks," they said, taking in the way Temmie lit up at the praise. "I'll be relying on you, then."

"Okay! Well, down this way is the first guard station," Temmie explained, pointing further down the path. "I, uh, know the guy who works there. We can probably sneak past him, he's usually asleep."

"Alright," Chara nodded. "I'll do my best."

And so they went, stepping lightly over the snow and trying not to attract any attention. Chara didn't think that there was anyone just wandering around the woods, but it was better to be safe than sorry. They stuck close to the treeline, ready to duck inside the woods and hide at the first sign of trouble.

This was actually something Chara was quite used to. Perhaps not in these exact circumstances, but they were used to ducking and dodging, staying out of the way of their parents' awful fights. Sometimes, in those fights, things would be thrown - and their parents didn't always check to make sure that Chara wasn't in the way before they started throwing.

Rather counterproductive to their whole 'save the children' schtick, but it was true.

So, Chara knew how to stay low to the ground, and stay quiet, and that's what they did.

Eventually, they approached a short, rickety bridge. Frowning to themself, Chara took a moment to look around and see if there was any other way they could cross, but to no avail.

"The guard station is right up ahead," Temmie whispered, keeping their voice down. "You can see it if you look a little further."

Chara strained their eyes, catching sight of the wooden station in the distance. It was just beyond the bridge, and Chara could barely see what looked like someone slumped over the counter, fast asleep.

They crept forward, practically crawling. Temmie kept an eye on the guard, so Chara just concentrated on the path ahead of them, making sure that they weren't about to go straight into a trap.

When they were directly next to the station, on their hands and knees, they heard the guard snort, mumbling something in his sleep. Chara froze for a split-second, wondering if he was waking up, but he did nothing except adjust himself a little and go back to sleep, letting out soft snores.

After another long moment of nothing, Chara allowed themself to relax, and kept moving forwards, wanting to get out of here before he really woke up. They were nearly in the clear, about to reach a bend in the road that would allow them to stand up and start running again, when they heard it -  _ footsteps. _

Coming right towards them.

Chara cursed under their breath, clamping their hand over Temmie's mouth so that the monster couldn't give away their position, and then dove behind the treeline, huddling as close to the large trees as possible.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Hopefully this was just another guard doing their rounds, and they wouldn't investigate things too deeply.

Chara peeked around the tree, as far as they dared, and saw who was coming. It was... a skeleton? Yes, a walking, talking skeleton.

A  _ shouting _ skeleton, to be more precise, because as soon as he saw the guard that was asleep at the station, he exploded.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU LAZY BASTARD?!" he screamed, actually making Chara wince and want to cover their ears. He was a little ways away from them, and it still sounded like he was shouting directly into their ear.

The guard woke with a startled gasp, shooting up and causing his hood to fall off - it was another skeleton, this one much taller and with an all-around more angular frame. 

"m'lord?" he said groggily, clearly still half-asleep. "what's wrong?"

"WHAT'S WRONG?" the short one screeched, before seemingly trying to get ahold of himself, sighing as he dragged his clawed fingers down his face in a show of extreme exasperation. "CAN'T YOU STAY AWAKE FOR EVEN ONE SHIFT, PAPYRUS? ALPHYS HAS BEEN DOING AN OVERVIEW OF THE GUARD LATELY, AND I HAVE HALF A MIND TO TELL HER ABOUT THIS!"

"sorry, m'lord," Papyrus said. Chara noticed that he didn't seem very sorry, and actually had a tiny smirk on his face as he watched the other skeleton rant and rave. "won't happen again."

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT IT WON'T!" he snapped. "BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO SPEND THE REST OF YOUR SHIFT, WITH ME, ON MY ROUNDS. AND IF I HEAR ONE COMPLAINT OUT OF YOU, I'LL WRITE UP YOUR DISCIPLINARY REPORT MYSELF!"

Now,  _ that _ made the smirk vanish. Looking very put-out, Chara could practically see the way the gears were turning in Papyrus' head to try and get out of this.

"but, m'lord, what if a human comes by?" Papyrus said, trying to sound like he actually cared about a duty that he had already failed, though he didn't know it.

The short one clearly shared Chara's opinion on the matter, because he scoffed loudly. 

"AND WHAT ABOUT YOUR LITTLE NAP TIMES, HM? IF A HUMAN HAD COME BY, YOU WOULD HAVE COMPLETELY MISSED THEM! HONESTLY, DON'T THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE MY BROTHER THAT I'LL GO EASY ON YOU! IN FACT, I SHOULD REALLY... BE..." he trailed off, making the hair rise on the back of Chara's neck.

Something was wrong.

Papyrus seemed to notice it too, because he sat up straighter, frowning as he looked over his brother. "sans, everything okay?"

Sans didn't reply, his eyelights trained on the ground. Chara shifted a bit to see what he was looking at, and nearly felt their heart stop.

It was tracks.  _ Their _ tracks. Since they had been crawling and not walking, it wasn't obvious footprints or anything like that, but there  _ was _ something to indicate that someone had come by.

If they followed the tracks, they would be led right to where Chara and Temmie were hiding! Sure, the tracks stopped where Chara had ducked into the woods, but that was literally five feet away from them!

Fuck, they were so screwed. All they could hope was that Sans dismissed it, or just thought it was another guard.

"PAPYRUS," he said slowly, tracing his eyes over the marks in the snow. "DID YOU HAVE ANY VISITORS TODAY?"

"not to my knowledge," Papyrus said, and then he actually stood up, leaning over the counter to see what Sans was looking at. When he saw the tracks, Chara witnessed his eye-sockets actually widening in shock, before he grimaced. "shit."

"YEAH, NO KIDDING!" Sans said, hands on his hips as he threw his brother a frustrated look. "WHAT IS THIS? IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT CAME FROM ONE OF THE BUNNIES."

Papyrus stepped out of his station, rounding the corner to get a closer look. "hm..."

He looked over the drag marks, and his gaze slowly moved to follow them along the ground, making Chara suck in a nervous breath.

Shit, he was going to find them! Chara ducked back behind the tree, squeezing their eyes shut. It was perhaps a bit childish, subscribing to the theory of 'I can't see you, you can't see me', but it was their best bet right now.

But then, Temmie squirmed out of their grip, causing Chara to make a bitten-off gasp as they lunged for the small monster. Temmie pushed them back, however, one of their limbs extending to extreme proportions as they carefully nudged Chara back into their hiding spot. 

"I've got this," they said, so quiet Chara could barely hear it. "Believe in me, okay?"

Chara could only nod, mutely. They weren't sure whether they  _ actually _ believed in Temmie, to be honest, but they supposed that there was no better time to start.

As the skeleton brothers walked closer to their hiding place, Temmie stumbled out from the forest, falling right into their path.

"Hoi!" Temmie chirped, gazing up at the two with big, adoring eyes. "Cute skeletons! Tem haz missed u!!"

Chara clamped their hand over their mouth, doing all they could to repress their laughter. What the fuck,  _ what the fuck?? _ Was this how Temmie talked to other monsters?

They hadn't done it with Asgore, but they had been utterly terrified of him, so that was probably the reason behind it.

But, just...  _ wow. _

"oh, it's just you," Papyrus said, shoulders slouching. He looked a little relieved, and Chara couldn't blame him - if it truly had been only Temmie, then he was pretty much off the hook. "heya, temmie. been a while. keeping busy?"

Temmie immediately began sweating. Chara nearly smacked their forehead, if it wasn't for the noise it would undoubtedly make.

Could they look anymore guilty?

"Tem busy!" they squeaked out, all of their confidence abandoning them as their eyes darted around, looking for an escape. "Tem increasing production of TEM FLAKES! tem need lotz of shiny!"

"I... SEE..." Sans said, regaining his exasperated look from earlier.

Chara noticed, however, that neither skeleton seemed annoyed by Temmie, even with their almost audibly bad grammar. In fact, if they didn't know any better, they'd say that the skeleton brothers looked vaguely affectionate towards the small monster!

Hm... Temmie hadn't said that they knew the monster at the station, or at least, not in any personal manner. So, how had this happened?

Geez. When they got out of this, Chara had a lot of questions for that little rat.

"REGARDLESS!" Sans said, bringing himself back to attention. "WERE YOU THE ONE THAT PASSED THROUGH THIS AREA?"

"YayA!" Temmie said, wagging their stubby little tail. "Tem come from BIG DOOR, on the search for shiny!"

"why didn't you wake me up?" Papyrus said, actually sounding a little disappointed. "i wouldn't mind helping you look."

"YES YOU WOULD!" Sans snapped, crossing his arms over his chest as he pinned Papyrus with a scornful look. "IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING RIGHT NOW!"

He then turned to Temmie, and the way his fangs turned up made it look like he was almost giving them a smile.

"I, ON THE OTHER HAND, AM SIMPLY DOING MY PATROLS. IF YOU WISH FOR COMPANY ON YOUR SEARCH, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO GRANT IT."

"okay, how's that fair - "

"IT'S FAIR BECAUSE I SAY IT'S FAIR! I'M OLDER!"

Oh my god. Chara couldn't believe it - these guys were just big, goofy nerds! How adorable. Chara couldn't wait to mess with them.

Now the two skeletons were just bickering back and forth, with poor Temmie caught in the middle, and looking increasingly uncomfortable.

Chara almost wanted to jump out and say something, but they knew better than to do that. Temmie was going through a lot of effort to keep them safe right now, so the very least they could do was return the favor and not do anything to jeopardize their cover.

Still, this was fucking hilarious! Sans and Papyrus were acting like little children - Chara wouldn't be surprised if they tried to grab Temmie and start tugging the poor thing back and forth like something out of a cartoon.

Just when it looked like it might actually come to blows, Temmie spoke up, bravely putting on a smile even though they were sweating profusely.

"Tem... Tem can find by self!" they said, barely resisting a flinch when the two skeletons glanced down at them. "Tem very SMART. Tem went to colleg, learnt many TEM STUDIES! Can find shiny all by own!"

Instead of getting irritated, or even disappointed like Chara half expected they would, the brothers only smiled indulgently at the toy.

"alright, we understand," Papyrus said gently, kneeling down so that he could pat Temmie on the head.

Sans did the same, sighing explosively, and Chara could see the way Temmie was barely staving off a panic attack at the two intimidating monsters being so close to them, but impressively, it wasn't too obvious on their face.

"WE REALLY SHOULD BE GOING," he said grudgingly, getting back on his feet. "BE CAREFUL IN SNOWDIN, TEMMIE. THINGS HAVE BEEN... QUIET, AS OF LATE. WHICH ONLY MEANS THAT SOMETHING BIG IS GOING TO HAPPEN. STAY ON YOUR GUARD."

"Tem will!" Temmie agreed, clearly trying to urge the two along. "Tem be safe, and cute skeletons be safe too, yaya?"

"sounds like a plan," Papyrus chuckled, tucking his hands in the pockets of his long coat.

Sans snapped his fingers and Papyrus immediately moved to stand behind him, the two giving Temmie one final farewell before heading on their way.

They walked directly past Chara's hiding spot, making them hold their breath, but there was no reaction, and before long they were around the corner and out of sight.

Chara was safe - for now.

Temmie waited a moment later, trembling, before racing back to where Chara was leaning against the tree.

"I thought I was going to die!" they wailed, panting heavily as they immediately turned to Chara for comfort. "They're so scary!"

"Scary?" Chara snorted, giving Temmie a teasing grin as they picked the small monster up once more. "They seemed like giant, burnt marshmallows to me."

Temmie's mouth fell open, looking at them like they were crazy.

"Were you seeing the same thing I was?" Temmie demanded, seeming awfully indignant. "They have huge fangs! And claws! And they're really, really strong, trust me. I never want to get on their bad side!"

"Somehow, I don't think that's going to be a problem for you," Chara said amusedly. 

Temmie scrunched up their nose, looking genuinely confused. "What do you mean? They may have seemed okay right then, but they're pretty ruthless. I'm lucky they think I'm such a dumbass, they don't consider me a threat."

Chara just smiled, and refrained from answering. It was obvious that the brothers actually  _ liked _ Temmie, for whatever reason. In fact, now might be a good time to try and figure that out...

"So, how did you meet them, anyway?" Chara said casually, sitting with their back against the tree. "Ruthless or not, they seem pretty familiar with you."

"O-Oh, I suppose," Temmie said, ducking their head in a shy manner. "I, well... I helped them out, a long time ago. It was kind of a big deal, but since I'm always acting so dumb around them I wasn't sure if they still remembered or, y'know, cared."

Chara smiled, stroking along Temmie's back. "I think they do. At the very least, they seemed happy to tolerate your antics."

Temmie brightened, beaming up at them. "Hehe, yeah. They scare me a lot... But they're not bad monsters, I don't think. Just violent ones. Which is the state of most of the Underground, honestly."

"What should we do about them, then?" Chara questioned. As much fun as it was to hang out behind this tree, they couldn't do it forever.

They were getting hungry, and starting to develop a headache from not drinking anything since that single sip of stolen tea. They still had some hot chocolate stashed away somewhere, but they really wanted to save that for an emergency.

Which may be coming up soon, actually, if they didn't find a way to get out of the snow. Their shorts were not serving them well in this environment, and their sneakers and socks were practically soaked through after their previous 'stealth mission'.

"I have Sans' route memorized," Temmie explained, waving a paw in casual dismissal. "I know how to get around him, no problem."

That sounded good enough (though it honestly brought up even more questions than before), but Chara still had to ask...

"What if he changes the route, for whatever reason?" Chara said. Sans didn't seem like the type to do that, but maybe his encounter with Temmie and having his brother with him would make him switch up his routine.

"I don't think it's too likely for him to do something like that," Temmie said, unknowingly echoing Chara's thoughts. "But if he does... Um... I guess I'll distract them? There's no way I can beat either of them in a fight, especially not when they're together, but I bet I could provide a decent shield."

"I'm not interested in a shield," Chara said calmly. The thought of Temmie sacrificing themself for them... It filled them with a distinct sense of unease. "If things get rough, we'll run together. You know the Underground fairly well, it seems. Better to keep you around so that you can tell me all the best hiding spots."

Temmie actually saluted, in a determined manner that made Chara resist a squeal at the sheer cuteness factor.

"You got it! I'll do my best!"

"I know you will." Chara smiled. Somehow, they actually believed Temmie this time.

...

With Temmie's careful instruction, the two children were able to avoid the rest of the guard stations in the forest, staying out of sight of the bunny guards.

There were a couple of close calls, considering just how excellent the bunnies' sense of hearing was, but luckily, they were also rather dumb, and easily distractible.

Chara could see why Alphys, whoever she was, had decided to do an overview of the guard, because  _ seriously. _ At one point, the two of them had walked directly in front of one of the guards, and they had been so distracted by whatever dirty magazine that they were reading that they didn't even pay attention!

Honestly, Chara felt a bit disgruntled by the whole thing. Here they were, trying their best to survive in an Underground cavern filled with monsters that wanted to kill them, and they didn't get to have even one chase scene!

They supposed they should be grateful, and Chara was sure they would be later, but for right now it was just disappointing.

But they were in Snowdin town soon enough, and Temmie directed them towards an Inn where they could stay. Temmie even got them in for free by vigorously petting the dog monster who owned it.

That was a little strange to witness, since Chara was never quite sure just how 'animalistic' the monsters were, but it worked, so they weren't about to complain. Even if the way Lesser Dog's neck had stretched had almost made them gag.

Chara didn't need to stay long at the Inn, only taking about half an hour to warm up and get their bearings. With Temmie by their side, they mapped out what they were going to do next.

Thankfully, Temmie explained that none of the other areas they were heading to would be this cold, so as long as they got out of Snowdin quickly there was really no need for them to get some new clothes. Chara was happy about that, since they had a limited supply of gold in the first place, and had to spend most of it on food.

Temmie had their own gold, but Chara was trying not to dip into that wherever possible. It just didn't seem fair. 

If Chara wanted something like that, they had to earn it. That was what they had always been told, and they believed it. After all, once their 'illness' had come to light everything that had once worked so hard to get even the slightest sliver of was suddenly handed to them on a silver platter.

What was the point? It all just felt so patronizing and useless. It was more fun to manipulate people when they weren't so eager to just give them everything they wanted.

So, Chara was trying to stay frugal. They weren't against stealing gold from other monsters, of course, but not Temmie. Not after everything the little stuffed toy had done. Chara wasn't that cruel.

After buy a couple of Hush Puppies at the store next to the Inn (run by a tiny dog in a very big suit of armor), Chara munched on one as they made their way through town. They stuck to the edges, skirting carefully around any large groups of monsters, but no one seemed to pay them any mind.

In fact, no one seemed to be doing much of  _ anything _ \- just scurrying around, trying to get to their destination as fast as possible. By Temmie's slight frown, Chara could tell that this wasn't normal behavior.

Hadn't Sans said something about this? He'd mentioned that Snowdin had been quiet lately. Chara could see why he would find that unsettling; the atmosphere was awful and made Chara quite uneasy. 

They passed by a quaint little cafe at one point, with spiderwebs and other spider-related decorations all over it. Chara faintly wished that they had the time to stop in, because it looked extremely cute, and Chara had a bit of a sweet tooth for sure.

But, they couldn't afford to do that right now. Temmie had muttered into their ear that the place was expensive as hell, and was run by a cunning spider monster that was more than happy to turn you into her next ingredient if she didn't get paid.

Chara could respect that.

In fact, Chara was so entranced by the sight, they failed to notice that they were about to bump into someone.

Stumbling backwards with a startled gasp, Chara looked up to see a small goat monster - one who looked curiously like Asgore, actually.

He scowled, rubbing his head where he had accidentally knocked foreheads with them, wrinkling his nose.

"Watch it, peasant!" he snapped, giving an ugly sneer that made any of Chara's previous guilt over the situation die off instantly. "What, are you blind or something? When I walk, you get out of my way! Have you forgotten how this works?"

"Of course not,  _ your majesty," _ Chara said, trying not to let the sarcasm coat their words too much. They almost considered doing a mocking bow, but they decided against it in an instant. This kid was the type to make a big fuss of it if he felt he was insulted, and they really couldn't afford that right now.

"Good!" he sniffed imperiously, waving a furry paw as if gesturing for Chara to get away from him. He still wasn't even  _ looking _ at them, as if they weren't worth even that much of his attention. "As long as you remember that in the future. That will be all."

Chara had to physically bite their lip to stop themself from snapping back something incredibly rude, so they merely ducked their head for a moment and stepped around him, intending on hurrying to the edge of town so that they could get out of here before this brat got any more ideas.

"...Hey, wait a second!"

Too late. Chara resisted a groan, turning back to face him. They noticed absently that the other monsters around them were leaving quickly, all of them seeming to purposefully turn their heads away.

Guess they shouldn't be expecting any help from the townspeople, then.

But when they looked up at him, they realized that something had changed. The goat monster no longer looked haughty and judging, no - now he looked  _ furious. _

"Where did you get that?" he demanded, and his voice had gone low and cold in a way that actually managed to make Chara take a reflexive step back. "That's not yours!"

Chara frowned, honestly not knowing what he was talking about, and glanced down to see.

It was  _ Temmie. _ He was pointing at Temmie.

The small monster was absolutely still, eyes wide, and Chara could feel only the slightest of breaths coming from them as they tried to look as limp and lifeless as possible.

Chara clutched Temmie closer to their chest, feeling a surge of protectiveness run through them.

"I don't know what you're talking about," they said evenly, taking another step back when his expression became somehow even more furious. "This is... important to me. I found it a while ago."

_ "Where," _ he hissed, marching up to them and grabbing their arm in a brutal grip. "Where did you find it you filthy human?"

Chara stiffened, ice instantly running through their veins. 

No, no, no!

Chara wrenched their arm away, uncaring of the consequences as they turned and made a run for it, ignoring the other child's furious yells as he tried to pursue them.

But Chara was faster, and didn't have to deal with the same ornate robes that the monster was wearing, and so quickly outpaced him. As soon as he was out of sight, Temmie seemed to come back to life in their arms, shaking with fear and adrenaline.

"Be careful!" they yelped, extending their limbs and wrapping them around Chara's shoulders as they barreled forwards. "The ice is slippery here, you're going to - !"

_ Fall. _

Chara's foot slipped at the exact second Temmie was trying to issue their warning, and they crashed down onto the ice road with a sharp-sounding crack.

Suddenly, Chara found themself feeling dizzy, their vision wavering as they tried to figure out what was going on,  _ what just happened?! _

After a second of shaking their head, trying to clear the fog that had taken over, they heard Temmie sobbing, trying to say something, but their voice was trembling so much Chara couldn't make out the words.

"Oh, oh god, y-your arm, oh no, oh no, it's happening again, oh god, oh please, no, no, no - "

"Temmie!" Chara coughed out, voice somehow having become raspy and aching. "What's wrong?! I'm okay, just give me a second, I'm okay!"

"You're  _ not!" _ Temmie denied, still crying loudly. 

If Chara's mind was working any better, they would have told the small monster to calm down so that they wouldn't attract any undue attention, but as it was, they could do nothing more than struggle to sit up, trying to push their arms out from underneath them.

"What are you doing, stop it!" Temmie yelped in distress, dancing around Chara's prone body, unsure of what to do. "Aren't you in pain?!"

Chara blinked in confusion, tilting their head as they looked to Temmie in confusion. "I... No? Should I be?"

Chara hadn't told them. Not out of any real desire, of course, it had just... never come up. And maybe there was another reason, maybe they were a bit worried about how Temmie would treat them if they thought the human child was  _ delicate, _ as their parents so kindly put it, but Chara would never admit it, even under pain of death.

Which, haha, would never happen to them.

"Your  _ arm!" _ Temmie shrieked, gesturing wildly. "Look at your arm!"

Chara glanced down, and saw it.

Their left arm was almost completely shredded from scraping against the rough ice, and their sweater had gotten a brunt of the impact too, the sleeve nearly completely torn off. That in and of itself wasn't too bad, to be honest - Temmie was probably more worried about the bone.

Yep, that cracking noise they had heard as they fell had been their arm snapping in a spectacular way, a bit of bone poking through right before their elbow.

The ice and snow around them was drenched in puddles of blood, and Chara could feel even more dripped down their arm events they examined the situation.

Huh. No wonder Temmie was freaking out - this was the type of serious injury that their parents had warned them about! ...Not that Chara felt it, of course.

Still, they were put far more at ease once they figured out what the problem was. It seems that was why they were having such trouble pushing themself up.

"It's alright, don't worry," Chara soothed Temmie, awkwardly reaching out with their right hand to pat them on the head. They had wanted to bring the monster into a calm embrace, but they couldn't quite seem to get their left arm to move much, so this would have to be enough for now.

It rather reminded them of the time they'd stuck their hands on top of the stove - even though it hadn't hurt at all, it had been difficult for Chara to bend their fingers, or hold things for a while. It didn't hurt, really, it was just numb.

"Alright?!" Temmie cried out, not seeming very soothed at all.

Oops, that might be because Chara had just accidentally smeared some blood on them. Ah, well.

"Yes, it's okay," Chara confirmed, honestly just wanting this to be over already. Temmie was acting bit ridiculous in their opinion. "There's nothing that we can do about this right now, so let's get moving, okay? We can figure this out in the next area. If we stay here, we run the risk of someone seeing the blood and figuring out that there's a human nearby. Waterfall is only a little beyond here, right? We should get going."

Temmie didn't reply, simply staring at them in utter disbelief.

Chara frowned, wondering what was wrong. Their plan would work just fine, wouldn't it?

Then, seeming to shake themself out of it, Temmie's legs grew and changed, causing the monster to tower over Chara in a way they never had before. 

"Hold on!"

That was the only warning, before Temmie's two front legs reached out and latched onto Chara, holding them close as the monster bounded back into town.

"H-Hey, wait!" Chara yelped, almost struggling against their grip. "We can't go back there, that guy must still be looking for us!"

"Trust me!" Temmie replied, and that was enough for Chara to silence their complaints.

Yeah, okay. Just this once.

Temmie brought them to the house at the very end of town, the one that Chara had barely glimpsed as they raced by in a panic. Next to it was a large wooden shed, which Temmie carefully placed them behind.

"Here," they said, "you'll be able to stay out of sight. This is where the skeleton brothers live, and I know that they've got the best healing supplies in town. So please just hang out here for a couple of minutes, okay? I promise I'll be right back!"

Chara looked at Temmie for a long moment, taking in their hopeful expression, before they silently nodded. It probably would be a good idea to get this fixed as early as possible, only so that it wouldn't hinder them in the future.

Temmie sighed in relief, their limbs shrinking back down into normal proportions. After one last worried glance, they trotted off into the skeletons' house, presumably to go digging for supplies.

Chara leaned back against the shed, cradling their arm against their chest with a grimace. This was terrible timing. Right after someone had called them out for being human, right when they were at their most vulnerable!

Chara wanted to curse themself, but they knew that there was really nothing that they could do. It had been an accident. Sure, they could've slowed down earlier, or just not run like a complete and total wimp in the first place, but they couldn't change that now.

They just had to deal with the consequences.

But still, Chara's thoughts spiraled down as they waited for Temmie to come back with some help. They couldn't help but keep thinking about what they could have done better. All the things their parents had told them kept circling in their thoughts, leading to a endless hole of misery.

_ What were you thinking, you're not strong enough -  _

_ What were you thinking, you're not balanced enough - _

_ What were you thinking, you're not smart enough - _

_ What were you thinking, you're not enough -  _

_ you're not enough - _

_ you're not enough - _

_ you're not - _

"Chara?"

Chara jolted, snapping back to the present as Temmie approached, sounding worried. Why was Temmie so worried? It didn't hurt.  _ Nothing _ hurt.

"Still here," they said quietly, trying to soothe the other's worries and also keep a low profile.

Temmie's shoulders relaxed, and they let out a relieved sigh behind the small case they had clenched in their teeth.

"Glad to hear it!" They said cheerfully, spitting out the case once they had reached where Chara was sitting. "Here's the medicine. Let me get it set up!"

Temmie popped open the case, sticking their head inside as they rummaged around.

"I suppose, being skeletons and all, those two would have had to deal with broken bones before, huh?" Chara said thoughtfully.

"INDEED."

Chara jolted, eyes wide as they stared at the pair of skeletons that had just appeared behind Temmie, looking very unhappy. Temmie yelped, banging their head against the top of the case as they spun around.

"hey, temmie," Papyrus said, sounding a bit tense. His hands were not in his pockets, but by his sides, and his posture was loose and ready to attack at any moment. "need to borrow something?"

Temmie immediately started sweating and shaking, but to their credit they didn't hesitate.

"YES! Tem need borrow!" they said, trying to keep a happy face. "Tem... Tem give back! Tem promise!"

"TO BE BLUNT, THE MEDICINE IS NOT REALLY WHAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT HERE," Sans said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Temmie's sweating only got worse, and their eyes darted around in a very suspicious manner. "Oh? But... nothing else! Nothing here!"

Both skeletons gave Temmie a deadpan look, and Chara would've smacked themself on the forehead if their arm was working correctly.

"really?" Papyrus said, his faceplate moving in a way that made it look like he was raising an eyebrow. "you don't see the human right behind you?"

"No human!!" Temmie squeaked, apparently willing to die on the hill for this one. "Silly skeles must be... uh, hallucinating! YayA! Tem would know if there was human! Tem LOVE humans! Human very cUtE!"

"IS THAT SO," Sans stated, seeming very unimpressed by Temmie's attempt at subterfuge. 

"Yes!" Temmie said, and then their eyes darted back to look at Chara in a move so obvious they almost felt like turning themself in. "And if... if Tem DID know human, Tem would take very good care of them! Tem would not let anybody hurt them!"

At the end of that sentence, a bit of Temmie's cute facade melted away, the very real passion under their words apparently catching the brothers off-guard, with the way they both blinked in surprise.

Sans stared at Temmie, contemplating something, but Papyrus' gaze moved to Chara, who stared back at him unfalteringly.

His eyelights traveled from their face, to their broken arm. It lingered there for a moment, taking in the horrible gashes and ruined state of their sweater.

Then, he sighed.

"yeah, okay."

Sans blinked, tearing his gaze away from Temmie to look up at his taller brother in surprise. "OKAY?"

"okay," Papyrus confirmed, nodding. He kneeled down, getting closer to Temmie's height, "do you wanna come into the house with us? we know how to use those supplies, and we can patch your friend up for you."

Chara half thought that Sans would argue, after how adamant he had been about catching a human earlier, but he said nothing. It seemed that he was willing to follow his brother on this one.

"No... no guards?" Temmie said suspiciously, shrinking a little back into themself now that they weren't so willing to attack. "No tricks?"

"NO TRICKS," Sans spoke up, placing his gloved hands on his hips. "I DON'T CONDONE THAT TYPE OF BEHAVIOR. BELIEVE ME, HUMAN, WHEN I PLAN ON KILLING YOU, I WILL LET YOU KNOW."

Chara snorted, speaking up for the first time. "Thanks."

At the confirmation from Sans, Temmie finally relaxed, allowing themself to dart back over to Chara's side, nudging them gently.

"Okay, let's go!"

Papyrus chuckled, reaching out to grab the case and snap it shut with one hand, offering the other to Chara.

"you look like you need a bit of a  _ hand _ there, pal. lemme help you up."

Chara grudgingly accepted the help, allowing him to pull them to their feet, even though they didn't appreciate the pun.

Once they were stabilized, they looked up at him, honestly astonished at how much taller he was. Even Sans, now that they were standing next to him, had quite a few inches over them. Though part of that probably came from his heeled boots.

Still, it was a little different from what they had expected, and it must have been the same for the skeleton brothers too, because they also seemed a bit surprised when they ended up looking down at Chara.

"I THOUGHT HUMANS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HUGE AND INTIMIDATING," Sans commented as the quartet traveled over to the house, going through the front door with little fanfare.

Chara shrugged, ignoring the way it jostled their arm weirdly. "Well, I'm a child, so that may have something to do with it. But I find the average human not to be too huge, and very rarely intimidating."

"THAT'S RIDICULOUS," Sans scoffed, though he kept a careful eye on them as they settled on the couch. Papyrus went off to fetch a few things, and Temmie flopped down by their side, utterly exhausted after all of the acting they'd had to do today. "HOW WILL THE HUMANS BE PREPARED FOR CONFLICT IF THEY DO NOT PROJECT AN IMAGE OF STRENGTH?"

Chara blinked, a little bemused at the line of questioning.

"Most humans don't enter conflict," Chara explained gently. It seemed like the monsters, as Temmie had touched on earlier, had a much different view of humans than the reality. "Not with any consistency, anyway. If a person is fighting, it is typically because they choose to do so, or they live in an area which doesn't grant them any choice."

"BUT WHAT ABOUT CONFLICT WITH  _ US?" _ he said in frustration, seeming truly astounded that this was not something that humans were constantly prepared for. "DO THEY NOT THINK US WORTH EVEN THAT MUCH EFFORT?"

Chara bit their lip, tasting blood. They must have split their lip at some point, but it didn't bother them. They just kept thinking, trying to figure out how to word it.

This was different with Temmie, because Temmie did not actually  _ want _ conflict with humans. But even then, they hadn't seemed to understand the actual magnitude of what such a conflict would explode into. It didn't matter that most people didn't know how to fight - their sheer numbers and the fact that they were already naturally stronger than monsters meant that they  _ would not win. _

Chara decided not to touch on that right now, however. They doubted that Sans would be willing to hear it, let alone believe it.

"Humans don't really know about monsters anymore," they chose to say instead, touching on the reason that humans wouldn't be thinking about a war with the monsters. "From what I gather, you guys were locked down here centuries ago, maybe even millennia. Everyone who fought against you during that time, everyone who knew anything about you, is dead. There is no one on the surface who knows about how real magic and monsters are - to us, they're just fun stories. Folklore. Myths. No one even knows that you're all under this mountain in the first place."

Sans stared at them, stunned. Papyrus, who had come back sometime in the middle of their little rant, also stayed silent, simply staring at them.

Chara was honestly surprised. They had thought that Sans would be happy, would think of it as a chance to catch the humans off-guard, but instead he just seemed... upset.

"then what's the point?" Papyrus quietly spoke up, but when Chara turned to look at him, his eyes were burning. "what's the point of all this, then? we got strong so we could get revenge on the humans who crossed us. if they're all dead and gone and  _ forgotten, _ then what's the point?"

Despite everything, Chara was just a child. They didn't have an answer.

"I guess that's something that you'll have to figure out yourself," they said. What else could they do?

Sans still didn't say anything, but he held out his hand to Papyrus, who obediently handed over the rest of the medical supplies that he had brought.

"COME HERE," he ordered roughly, but when he tugged Chara closer to him, they could feel the gentleness with which he was treating them.

Chara went willingly, tugging off their sweater when asked and exposing their injury. Temmie stayed by their side anxiously, but didn't attempt to complain or stop them. It seemed that they at least trusted the skeleton brothers to do this much, to keep their word.

That was enough for Chara to trust them too. They allowed Sans to wipe down their arm, smearing some salves over the scrapes without protest. Papyrus just stood nearby, keeping a careful eye on the proceedings.

"DOESN'T IT HURT?" Sans said suddenly. Chara let out a quiet questioning noise, wondering what he was referring to. "I HAVE BEEN TOUCHING YOUR WOUNDS FOR SEVERAL MINUTES NOW, YET YOU STILL HAVE NOT MADE A SOUND. DOES IT HURT?"

"Mm," Chara made a noncommittal noise, thinking that it probably wasn't the best idea to tell a skeleton that had admitted to wanting to kill them at some point, that they couldn't feel pain. "It's okay. You have been very careful, and I appreciate that greatly."

Sans' skull gained a slight tint, dark blue in color, and Papyrus chuckled lowly as his brother sputtered.

"OF COURSE I AM BEING CAREFUL!" he snapped, though Chara noticed with some amusement that he was still bandaging them with care even as he ranted and raved. "IF I ACTED ROUGH, IT WOULD ONLY MAKE YOUR CONDITION WORSE, AND END UP IN MORE WORK FOR ME! I HAVE THINGS I NEED TO DO, YOU KNOW!"

Chara resisted a smile, making eye-contact with Temmie, who only shrugged, a reluctant smile of their own tugging at their mouth.

"Still, thank you," Chara said graciously. "I am truly grateful that you are willing to do this for me, both of you."

"don't get it twisted," Papyrus rumbled, watching Chara carefully. "we aren't doing this for you."

"Of course," Chara said, nodding in acknowledgment.

"A LIFE FOR A LIFE," Sans said, still focused on his work even as he spoke. "WE REPAY OUR DEBTS."

Temmie squeaked, looking like a strange mixture of embarrassment and pleasure.

"I didn't, I didn't do that so you guys would owe me a debt!" they stumbled over their explanation, the fur on their muzzle darkening.

Sans and Papyrus exchanged a glance, and let out a huff.

"we know," Papyrus agreed, moving over to stand by the couch. "that's why we do."

Temmie pouted in frustration, clearly not understanding what they meant, but it was getting harder and harder for Chara to hide their smile. It seemed their earlier assessment of the two had been correct. Big, fluffy marshmallows. 

"ANYWAY!" Sans announced, getting off the couch only for his brother to take his place. "HUMAN! I AM GOING TO WASH AND REPAIR YOUR SWEATER. PAPYRUS WILL FINISH THE HEALING PROCESS, INCLUDING SETTING AND REPAIRING THE BONE. TRY NOT TO CRY TOO MUCH!"

"I'll do my best," Chara said, and the amusement in their tone must have been too obvious, because Sans shot them a sour look before going up the stairs with Chara's sweater in his arms. 

"don't worry," Papyrus said with a bit of a laugh. "m'lord knows what he's doing. he's actually the one who made all of our clothes."

Chara blinked, rather surprised at that information. Sans didn't seem like he had the patience for doing something like that. "Really? Even your jacket?"

Papyrus chuckled, absentmindedly stroking the fur on the hood of his coat. "yep, even this."

"Wow, that's really cool!" Chara couldn't help but feel jealous - they weren't allowed to handle anything more sharp than a pencil, and even then it was only when under intense scrutiny.

"yeah, my bro's the coolest," Papyrus said, and Chara grinned at the way his shoulders puffed up, clearly proud.

That was sweet. Temmie was right, these guys were cute, even though Chara knew that when this was all over the brothers were definitely going to try and kill them.

"now, this may sting a bit," Papyrus said, taking their arm in his hands.

Chara glanced up at him, startled at the slight sarcasm they'd detected in his words, but before they could say anything, he pushed the bone back down into their skin, a faint green glow enveloping their arm afterwards.

Papyrus was looking at them, and when they made no real reaction except for slight confusion, he let out a huff, as if he had confirmed something.

"this is healing magic," he explained, looking back down at their arm and thankfully not commenting on whatever he had been thinking before. "i'm better at this than m'lord, because my magic is more versatile. his is really only good for attacking, but i'm capable of several different types of magic, healing included. the salve he gave you earlier will clean out your injuries and prevent infection, however, which isn't something that i'm capable of. my healing isn't  _ that _ good."

"I see," Chara murmured, watching the progress of their healing arm with a fascinated eye. 

The wounds all closed up, slowly, and Chara could see the new skin regrowing itself - feeling rather intrigued by the process. It almost reminded them of getting a sunburn, or something like that. By the end, it pretty much looked that way, only a slight discoloration remaining where there had once been a grievous injury.

"That's  _ amazing," _ they commented, pulling their arm back to give it an experimental wave. Yep, everything was working right, though it was responding to them a little slowly, but that was to be expected. Whatever amount of magic healing they received, they did literally have the bone poking out of their skin, so... "Thank you so much."

Papyrus actually blushed a little bit, to Chara's great amusement, his cheekbones coloring a burnt orange. He scratched at his cheek, looking away from them in embarrassment.

"ah... it was nothing. no problem, kiddo."

Chara was considering how far they could take this teasing, and Temmie must have sensed it, because they smacked their tiny paw against Chara's leg and gave them a reproachful look.

Before Chara could even think about retaliating, Sans bounded back down the stairs, Chara's sweater in hand.

He gave it back to them with a flourish, and Chara whistled, impressed. 

It was completely clean, the stripe in the middle visible in a way it hadn't been in weeks. There was no sign of any tears or damage, and Chara honestly thought that it looked better than it had before they fell into the Underground.

"Thanks, Sans!" they said excitedly, pulling it back on over their tank top. Chara sighed with relief when it was returned, and took a second to hug themself in comfort. They'd felt practically naked without it.

Remembering at the last moment, Chara reached up to adjust their locket, making sure the chain wasn't tangled where it had been circled around their neck. They tucked it carefully beneath their sweater, not noticing the strange look that passed between Sans and Papyrus.

"Thank you two so much for your hospitality," Chara said, standing from the couch. Temmie jumped up onto their shoulder, balancing there with little effort.

"Yes, big thank!" they chirped, giving the brothers a genuine smile. "Tem love human, so Tem want human okay! You make human okay, so Tem happy! Tem consider debt all paid now!"

"UNDERSTOOD," Sans said, nodding to the small monster. He then smirked, looking at Chara with a challenging air. "IN THAT CASE, I WILL GIVE YOU EXACTLY TEN SECONDS AS A HEAD START."

Chara grinned back, but didn't bother to waste any more time, racing out of the house with Papyrus' laughter echoing behind them. They had learned their lesson though, and carefully slowed down once they reached the icy roads outside town.

"Are they following us?" Chara asked, panting.

Temmie peered behind them, and then shook their head. "Nope! We're good."

Chara laughed, somehow having expected that. "Not bad, those two."

They headed into Waterfall without delay. Directly before the entrance was a small, golden star. Chara poked it curiously, but when it did not react, they shrugged and kept moving.

About five feet in, they stepped on a strange metal panel, and they suddenly seized up, choking as electricity surged through their body.

Temmie was screaming, Chara was screaming, and then they

_ f e l l . _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> temmie: things are going pretty good, huh?  
> chara: definitely! just let me go ahead and fix that
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	9. only love is infinite

Frisk left Snowdin with one final glance back, watching Papyrus wave goodbye. He seemed hesitant, like he almost wanted to go with them, but he couldn't. They both knew it.

This was something that Frisk had to do alone.

It was a bit of a bummer, though. Heroes made a lot of friends, but it seemed like they didn't get to  _ stay _ with them long. But Frisk contented themself with the knowledge that they were moving on now, and would be able to make even more wonderful friends!

Like this cool lizard kid!

Frisk bounced up to the other child, who was leaning over the river at the border of Waterfall's entrance.

"Hey, dude, nice sweater!" they said, looking just as eager as Frisk. It was a little difficult to interpret what they were saying, since they didn't have lips, but it was no harder than Toriel, so Frisk was able to understand easily enough. "You're a kid like me, right? I know it because you have your stripes still!"

Frisk nodded, bringing their hands up to sign. *Hi, I'm F R I S K. What's your name?"

The lizard frowned apologetically, shaking their head. "Aw, I'm sorry dude. I don't know any sign language. I tried to learn, but it's a bit hard with no arms!"

Frisk laughed at the silly little dance the monster did to demonstrate their lack of opposable thumbs, but on the inside they couldn't deny that they were rather disappointed. It seems that they had been spoiled by their interactions with the skeleton brothers - on the surface, they were used to nobody understanding them.

Still, though, this kid was nice, so Frisk didn't hold it against them.

"My name is Monster Kid!" they announced, still smiling widely at Frisk, showing off their pointy teeth. "You can just call me MK if you want, dude!"

Frisk nodded, smiling back. They wished they could tell Monster Kid their name, but it was okay. They could still be friends even without it.

"Hm..." Monster Kid looked contemplative. "I guess I'm gonna have to brush up on my signing, huh?"

Frisk blinked in confusion, tilting their head to the side. Upon seeing that expression, Monster Kid laughed freely.

"Well, if we're gonna be buds then I have to know, right?" they said reasonably. "It didn't matter too much before, because I don't know anyone who exclusively uses sign language. It's kinda rare. But even if I am not be able to sign back, it's still important for me to know what you're saying!"

Frisk brighten, clapping excitedly. In truth, they could feel their eyes beginning to water, and they valiantly held it back. 

No one had  _ ever _ said something like that before. No one had ever gone out of their way to communicate with Frisk like that before. They'd always just depended on Mother to translate for them if it was needed, and it very rarely was, considering the fact that people didn't usually try to talk to Frisk in the first place.

This... This meant  _ so much _ to Frisk, and they had no idea how to express it. They settled for jumping up and down, looking about as excited as humanly possible.

Monster Kid laughed, their tail rapidly wagging from side to side. "Okay, dude, sounds like a plan! I can ask my parents when I get home tonight. In the meantime, do you wanna go look for Undyne with me? She always patrols around this time, and she's so cool!"

Frisk nodded eagerly. They loved spending time with friends! Though... wasn't Undyne the one that Papyrus had warned them about? The one who would definitely try to kill them?

"She's the Captain of the Royal Guard, and she can throw magic spears and punch things really good!" Monster Kid explained as the two of them walked deeper into the depths of Waterfall.

Yep, that sounds about right.

Well, it would  _ probably _ be okay, Frisk reasoned. After all, a lot of other monsters had tried to attack them too, but they were friendly now! All they needed was to be patient, and try to understand them. If Frisk could do that, then they would be able to survive this no problem.

Luckily, while Frisk did not naturally have patience as one of their traits, their determination to do good, and to be good, was more than enough to make up for it.

Frisk followed Monster Kid further in, passing by a guard station that looked just like Sans' from the early part of Snowdin forest. There was even snow on the roof, though Frisk wasn't sure how it stayed there, considering the humidity level of this area.

Sans wasn't there, though, which Monster Kid echoed with a sigh when they noticed.

"That skeleton guy is usually there selling hot dogs around this time!" they complained. "I wanted to buy one... I wonder where he is?"

Frisk's shoulders hunched in slight shame, thinking of how upset they must have left Papyrus. Sans was probably dealing with that.

They think he'd also said that he was on break, but according to Papyrus he was  _ always _ on break, so that didn't mean much.

Nevertheless, the two children kept moving, until they reached a large grassy area. The plants were actually taller than Frisk, making them let out a muffled sneeze when the grass tickled their nose.

Monster Kid snorted at the noise, giving them a teasing glance. "Don't go getting too riled up yet, dude! We haven't even found Undyne yet!"

Frisk stuck out their tongue, but they were smiling too.

And so it went, the two of them roaming through Waterfall's darkened passages, having fun playing with the lanterns and just messing around in general. Frisk noticed that some other monsters glanced at the two kids from time to time, but upon seeing them laughing and playing together, would leave them be.

Frisk wouldn't mind getting to know the other monsters, honestly, but they couldn't say they weren't grateful for the reprieve. It had been a long, long day.

Eventually, though, there was a problem. One that  _ couldn't _ be solved by the power of friendship, unfortunately.

"Aw, man!" Monster Kid said in frustration, looking at the tall ledge that was in front of them. It seemed to be the only way to get to the next area, and even if Frisk managed to haul themself up, there was no way that they would be able to get Monster Kid up too. 

Frisk bit their lip, gesturing to the other child about finding another way around.

They shook their head, but regained their cheerful expression. "Nah, dude, it's okay! This is the fastest way. You go ahead, I'll go back and ask that little bird for a lift!"

Frisk frowned, but ultimately acquiesced when Monster Kid refused to take no for an answer. By carefully climbing onto the other's shoulders, they were able to pull themself up onto the ledge, standing up and looking down at their friend.

"Catch up with you soon, dude!" Monster Kid said, waving their tail in a sort of 'goodbye' gesture. Frisk waved back, and watched with a giggle as Monster Kid began to run, only to trip on the slippery ground and fall flat on their face.

They managed to get onto their feet without an issue, sheepishly waving their tail at Frisk to show that they were okay, before racing off again.

Frisk hoped they wouldn't trip too much.

But, well, Frisk had to keep going. So they did, marching through Waterfall's marshes and puddles by themself. Somehow, it wasn't nearly as fun when they were alone, and it also felt a great deal more scary.

Dark passages that had once been exciting when they were with Monster Kid now felt dangerous, and Frisk sometimes felt like there was someone  _ watching _ them.

But anytime they turned around to look, there was nothing there, so they dismissed it and kept moving forward, becoming increasingly excited to meet up with Monster Kid again. Waterfall had a lot more twists and turns than Snowdin, so Frisk was a bit worried about getting lost, but they realized quickly that a lot of those routes only headed to dead ends, so as long as they kept track of which ones they had already tried, they wouldn't get too lost in the maze.

There was another one of those weird stars there, and Frisk waved their hand through it, but nothing happened. Shrugging, Frisk continued on. They would probably figure it out sooner or later. Maybe they could ask Sans!

Smiling, thinking about that encounter, Frisk moved forwards without a care in the world.

It happened when they were crossing a bridge.

Frisk was walking, stick in hand, when the wood underneath them suddenly lit up in blue spots. They looked down, curious, and almost thought to poke at them with their stick, but there was no time.

Because those spots coalesced, and shot up huge spikes, spearing Frisk through like shredded paper.

And they

_ f e l l . . .  _

...

Frisk awoke gasping, shaking and wondering what the heck had just happened. Had they  _ died? _ Was this where people went when they died?

No, they realized, looking around for a second. This was the place they had been in when they first fell to the Underground, the dark place.

Standing a little bit ahead of them, a confused look on their face, was the other. That other kid, not the one who had tried to stab them, but the one who looked like that kid, for sure.

But something was... different. Frisk remembered their eerie smile, the way their eyes had sparkled like they were thinking of some funny, private joke. Now, they just seemed lost.

Frisk walked up to them, smiling gently when their head whipped around to stare at them.

*Hello,* they signed. *My name is F R I S K. It's nice to see you again.*

There was a moment of stillness, but they then  _ smiled _ \- it looked like they were trying to pull off the same type of creepy expression as before, but something about it was wrong. It looked plastic, like it didn't quite fit their face.

"Greetings," they said. "My name is Chara. It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Frisk."

Frisk nodded, not letting the intimidation tactic get to them. They knew such a thing when they saw it, having experienced it plenty of times from adults and children alike. But they didn't think that Chara meant it in the same way those people did - they were  _ scared. _

Scared, and lashing out, pushing everyone away before they could have the chance to hurt them. Frisk understood what that was like.

So, they didn't react to the wickedness in Chara's eyes, and merely got back on topic. *Do you remember what happened right before you got here?*

Chara's grin faltered, and they looked considering.

"I... Maybe?" they said slowly, tapping their finger against their chin as they thought this through. "It all happened so fast... I think I might have been electrocuted?"

Frisk blinked, eyes widening in alarm. 

*Electrocuted?!* they signed frantically, looking the other over for any burns. *Are you okay? Are you in pain?*

That weird smile returned, though it seemed just the tiniest bit softer. "No. But I cannot feel pain, so I wouldn't be able to tell you even if I was."

*That's not reassuring!* Frisk scolded, but they had to give a little grin of their own. At least this strange child had a sense of humor that was not solely dedicated to the misery of others.

"Perhaps not," they murmured, and then gave Frisk a searching look. "What about you? Did something similar occur in wherever you are?"

Frisk hesitated for a moment, biting their lip. *I... I think so? There was just this blue light, and then a bunch of spikes appeared! I got speared through before I could even blink!*

Chara winced, seeming to follow where Frisk's thoughts were heading. "Ah, my apologies."

Frisk waved it off, not really concerned about that at the moment. *It's okay. But we need to think about the important things right now - like, how did we get here? Obviously, it's connected to us getting hurt in an irreversible way. That's what happened when we fell down the mountain, right?*

Chara's eyes widened, and they hummed considerably.

"That could be it," they mused. "It's a connection that we all had at the start, and now it's only the two of us here, while we had remarkably similar experiences on the outside. There must be  _ something _ there."

Frisk nodded, but wasn't sure what else to say. They had nothing else to go on right now, after all.

"Well, we can't do anything about it here," Chara said briskly, planting their hands on their hips. "Why don't we head back? Do you remember how you did it the first time?"

Frisk hesitated, and then made a so-so gesture. They definitely  _ remembered _ it, but they still weren't sure how they'd done it. 

"Okay, okay," Chara said, nodding to themself. "Let me try to explain. When you left that first time, the rest of us ended up leaving in a similar manner. I was the last one out, and I think I have vaguely figured out how it works."

Frisk waited patiently, gesturing for them to go on. 

"You just have to really,  _ really _ want it, I think," they explained, making a frustrated hand gesture when their explanation didn't come out quite like they wanted it. "I mean, you have to focus  _ only _ on that. You have to push all of your determination into leaving, like you'll explode if you don't."

Frisk gave them a slightly alarmed look, and Chara huffed, crossing their arms with a bit of an embarrassed pout.

"It's an expression," they muttered, and Frisk kept up the wide-eyed look for another second before letting it melt away, and punching Chara playfully on the arm.

They held it with mock-outrage, pretending to be in tremendous pain. "Hey, watch it! I just got this fixed!"

Frisk giggled at their over-the-top acting, though they were bit concerned about whether or not that statement was true. Should they say anything? ...Well, probably not. As their earlier frazzled state had proved, this wasn't really the time or place for such things.

*Ready to try, then?* Frisk signed.

Chara looked back at them, and for the first time, the grin slipped off their face to make way for an entirely serious expression.

"Yes, I suppose we must. But be careful. If your Underground is anything like mine, it is a surprisingly treacherous place. Don't let your guard down," they advised. 

Frisk nodded, feeling a bit guilty. If they hadn't been so lackadaisical earlier, they wouldn't have gotten hurt. But then again, if that hadn't happened they wouldn't have had a chance to meet up with Chara, so they could consider that a benefit of this whole mess. 

*Alright,* they signed, before adding, *you too.*

This time, when Chara smiled, it was entirely genuine. "Okay."

With that, they both concentrated, trying to go back with everything they had.

_ I need to go back, _ Frisk thought to themself.  _ I promised Monster Kid that I would meet up with them! I want to see Undyne, I want to eat spaghetti with Papyrus, I want to tell Sans all the cool puns I've made up! _

_ I want to go back! _

And the ground fell out from underneath them.

...

They jumped back into awareness right before the bridge, and Frisk sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm their racing heart. 

Okay, okay. Assess the situation. Find out where it went wrong before, and avoid doing that again.  _ Simple. _

Frisk edged over to the bridge. No blue lights yet. Then, it must only happen when Frisk was actually on the bridge.

If they remembered correctly, there had been a couple seconds of delay before the spikes had actually come up. If they started running immediately, they would probably be able to avoid the worst of it.

Frisk let out a shaky sigh. They weren't ready for this. That had been terrifying, and even though it had only hurt for a split-second, that second had hurt like hell.

But they didn't exactly have a choice, did they? If they wanted to advance, they had to move forwards. A single step, that's all it takes.

Their Mother would say that to them all the time. Just take a single step.

And so Frisk did, steadily making their way onto the bridge, one foot after the other. About five steps in, the bridge once again began to glow underneath their feet.

Frisk didn't stop to admire the pretty colors this time - they just bolted, running as fast as they could. It seemed that they had been right about the delay, too, so as long as they kept up this speed and didn't get trapped in a dead end, they would be fine!

Unfortunately, this area of Waterfall appeared to consist of nothing  _ but _ dead ends! 

Frisk dodged and weaved around the spikes, but they were forced to endure a few light scratches here and there from where they weren't able to dodge fast enough, panting wildly as they ran from their unseen assailant.

Finally, Frisk managed to find an area with more of that thick, overgrown grass - a perfect place for them to hide in.

They went in as far as they dared, praying that they wouldn't sneeze again, and curled themself into a tiny ball, holding their knees to their chest.

Before long, they felt something shaking the ground around them. Their pursuer, it seemed. Frisk peeked through the long stalks of grass, moving as close as they dared.

It was a monster in a heavy-looking suit of armor, moving slowly through the wetlands. No wonder their had been a slight delay in their attacks - it must have been hard to even move in that thing!

There seemed to be some kind of bright red plumage coming out of the top, and Frisk's breath caught at the intimidating image the monster presented. 

Was this... Undyne? This seemed like the kind of monster who would be the Captain of the Royal Guard, anyway.

Man... No wonder Monster Kid liked her!

That was really,  _ really _ cool!

But it was also scary as hell, and Frisk was pretty glad that they weren't meeting Undyne face-to-face just yet.

The armored monster looked around for a moment, growing visibly frustrated, before turning to stomp away.

That was when the thing that Frisk feared most happened - they  _ sneezed. _

Undyne zeroed in on them in a split-second, making Frisk let out a yelp and scramble back, running for it. They could feel the ground shaking as Undyne tore after them, and Frisk could only shoot forwards in a blind panic, looking for some kind of escape.

They ran along the river, racing as far as they could. At one point, Undyne tried to block off where they were running and force them to fall off the bridge, but Frisk dodged expertly, more than used to it by now, and managed to find their way to another thin bridge. A little bit away in the distance, they could see a huge cliff.

From behind them, there was an even bigger crash than the normal sensation of Undyne's metal boots hitting the ground, and despite their better judgement, Frisk turned around to see what had happened.

What had happened, was the Undyne had thrown her helmet on the ground in a rage, exposing her face.

She was a fish monster with pretty blue scales, and extremely sharp teeth. Frisk got the feeling that she probably had a very nice smile when she wasn't baring her fangs like she wanted to rip them apart and eat their internal organs as a nice snack.

"Don't you RUN FROM ME!" Undyne yelled, single eye flashing with frustration. Frisk could understand her fairly easily, despite the way her teeth got in the way. Though, to be honest, Frisk thought they might have been okay with  _ not _ understanding her. "You are a  _ criminal! _ The enemy of everyone's hopes and dreams! You - !"

She stopped, her eye widening as someone darted in front of her and onto the bridge.

Frik lurched forwards, barely stopping themself from reaching out. It was Monster Kid, with a huge grin on their face and an excited wag of their tail.

"Yo, dude!" They called out, running up to stand beside Frisk. "You found Undyne! Man, that's awesome! And she looks like she's gonna fight somebody - we've got front row seats! How awesome is that?"

Frisk frantically shook their head, taking a few steps back so that Monster Kid wouldn't be within firing range if Undyne decided to throw another attack at them.

Monster Kid blinked slightly, surprised, but then they shook it off, turning to Undyne.

"Yo, who are you fighting, Ms. Undyne sir? Can we watch, please??"

Undyne snarled, manifesting a giant blue spear made of out light and holding it in her hands.

"I'm fighting  _ them!" _ she pointed it at Frisk, making them pale at the sight of the weapon anywhere near the area of their fragile, squishy parts. "The human!"

"Yo... what?" Monster Kid turned to Frisk, faltering. "A human? But, where - "

There was a beat of stillness.

_ "Oh." _

Frisk nodded, and their heart ached at the way Monster Kid's expression suddenly became horribly conflicted. They had never wanted things to go like this - they just wanted to make friends! Make friends, and save Mother. Those were the only two things in their mission. 

But it seemed... Well, it seemed like they were failing  _ both _ of them.

"Yo... you..." Monster Kid trailed off, before shaking their head and glaring at Frisk. "You gotta do something mean, then! Like, come over and push me! Do it, so I can hate you already!"

Frisk's eyes widened, and they shook their head without a second thought. They could never do such a thing,  _ never! _

Monster Kid's expression crumpled, and they let out a sad sigh. "Um, okay. Well... I hate you anyways! You're an awful human! All humans must die!"

Frisk flinched, physically stepping back as if they had taken a horrible blow. They knew, realistically, that their companion was just regurgitating the things that they must have heard from others in the past, but it  _ hurt. _

Monster Kid's eyes studied them, watching their reaction, and when they didn't strike back, their shoulders fell in shame.

"Aw  _ man... _ Now I just feel like a turd. I... I'm gonna go."

They turned around, heading back to where Undyne was standing. She was quiet, only watching the two of them interact with a sharp eye.

Then, as Monster Kid was about halfway across, they passed over an uneven plank, and tripped. Without arms to catch their fall, they skittered across the bridge, only barely hanging on to the edge with all the power they had.

Frisk didn't even think twice - they immediately ran over, grabbing the back of Monster Kid's sweater and hauling them up.

When the two of them lay panting on the bridge, Frisk felt the bridge shake with the force of Undyne's footsteps.

She was getting closer.

Frisk was about to get up and run, sure that Monster Kid would be okay now, but they moved before Frisk even got the chance.

Standing up tall and proud, they faced down the angry captain lurching towards them and did not falter.

"No way!" they shouted, actually making Undyne pause for a moment. "I'm not gonna let you hurt my friend - you're gonna have to get through me, first!"

Then they turned to Frisk, urging them on with a flick of their tail. "Run, dude! I'll hold her off for as long as I can!"

Frisk could have hugged them, but they didn't want to waste the opportunity that Monster Kid was granting them, so they gave one last grateful wave, and sprinted away.

They made it all the way across the bridge and to the base of the cliff before they could finally feel the pounding of Undyne's armored boots on the ground, and Frisk could only pray that she hadn't done anything mean to their friend. They didn't think she would, considering how serious she had seemed to take the safety and happiness of monsterkind, even in the five seconds she had spoken to them, but Frisk knew quite well how anger could take a person over and make them do things they normally wouldn't do.

Her anger certainly seemed to be fueling her now, as Frisk could feel her catching up to them with every second, making their breathing pick up as they struggled to stay out of the fish woman's grasp.

By the time they were running past a huge, electronic sign, they could practically feel her hot breath on the back of their neck, and they were nearly in tears from the absolute terror gripping their heart.

They didn't want to die again! They liked Chara, and the other Frisk, and maybe even that other Chara too, but dying was scary and they  _ didn't want to die again! _

It was then that the weather suddenly changed drastically, an extreme heat flooding through Frisk, and making them soak the collar of their sweater with even more sweat than they had already just by running from Undyne.

Behind them, Undyne staggered as the wave of heat hit her, but then doggedly pushed on, not stopping in her pursuit. 

Right up ahead was another one of Sans' stations, this one actually occupied by the skeleton in question, though he appeared to be asleep. Frisk almost thought of stopping - of asking for help, or to hide, or whatever, but they knew it would never work. Undyne was right behind them, and they couldn't ask Sans to try and go against his boss like that.

Surprisingly, Undyne was the one who veered off course, apparently going to yell at Sans for slacking off when there was a human literally right in front of him.

Though Frisk felt a bit guilty about it, they were grateful for the (unintentional) help, running across a bridge suspended over molten lava.

Okay, what the hell was up with the Underground? Why did it have all these deadly bridges? Frisk had no idea why someone would make a design choice like that, but they heartily disapproved.

They could feel Undyne thudding across the bridge after them, but her steps began to get weaker and weaker. Frisk, unable to stop themself even after all of the trouble they had gotten in, turned around after they had crossed the bridge to see if she was okay.

She was panting heavily, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. "Gotta... catch... the human! But, my armor..."

Undyne collapsed only a few feet away from them, the armor that had once made her seem so huge and intimidating becoming nothing more than a prison weighing her down.

Frisk... well, they liked to think that they reacted swiftly, and with very good judgement. But if truth be told, they absolutely panicked. 

They dawdled for a few seconds, hoping that Sans was somewhere around to help, but he seemed to have vanished after his scolding, leaving them with nothing to go on. Then their eyes caught sight of the water cooler a few feet away, and Frisk raced over.

Undyne was a fish, right? So water was good for her. Plus, she'd said that she was overheating, so this had to work, right?  _ Right? _

Oh, god. Frisk had no idea what they were doing. Some hero they had turned out to be, huh?

But still, they filled two cups with water and ran back over to her, dumping the water on her head and hoping that would do something, at least.

After a moment, Undyne started to stir, but she still looked so weak. Frisk looked away, squinting into the distance to see if there was some kind of shelter nearby.

There! A building, just a little ways away! A huge place like that had to have air-conditioning, right?

So Frisk coaxed Undyne into standing, slinging one of her arms over their shoulder. They nearly staggered under the weight of it, but they regained their footing and began to walk her forward. Their determination was enough to fuel them here, no problem! 

Slow, but steady, the mismatched duo made their way towards salvation. Frisk wasn't sure how they were going to get the doors to open, honestly, but luckily as soon as they got close enough the doors opened automatically.

Frisk hauled Undyne inside, sighing in relief when the air-conditioning hit them. It seemed to be... some kind of lab? But it was hard to tell, because the lighting was very low.

Oh gosh, Frisk hoped they weren't going to get in trouble for being in here.

"Ugh..." Undyne groaned, lifting her head to glare at Frisk weakly. "Where... are you taking me, human? You trying to pull something?"

Frisk could only shrug.

Undyne glanced around, trying to figure out where she was, when her eye widened. "Wait... This is - !"

The lights flickered on, making both of them wince as their eyes adjusted. 

Standing just a little bit ahead of them, mumbling to herself as she cleaned her glasses on the hem of her lab coat, was a yellow lizard monster.

Undyne said something - a name, maybe? - and the monster jumped, shoving her glasses back on and glancing over to the two of them with wide eyes.

"O-Oh, my god!" she yelped, stuttering so badly that Frisk had a bit of trouble understanding her. "U-Undyne? Human? Oh my god, I'm not prepared, the l-lab is a mess, I d-don't think I'm even wearing pants right now oh my god - "

Undyne repeated that word again, and Frisk squinted as they tried to interpret it. 

A-Al...fish? Alfiss? No...  _ Alphys. _ It looked like she was saying Alphys. It must have been this monster's name!

...God, Frisk sure hoped their assumption was correct, or else this was gonna be a very,  _ very _ awkward experience for everyone involved.

Alphys jumped a little at the call, and seemed to regain control of herself, coughing as she adjusted her glasses a little bit. She immediately rushed over, hands trembling as she reached to help Undyne sit down.

"W-What happened?" she asked frantically, shooting Frisk a nervous look.

Frisk couldn't help but feel a little insulted - they hadn't done this! Undyne was totally responsible for this, especially since she was the one running after them and threatening them in the first place. Really, they should be thanking Frisk for saving her fishy butt after all she'd done.

She'd  _ literally _ killed them! She didn't seem to remember it, but Frisk sure did!

So they thought they could be justified in being a little grumpy. But, they didn't hold onto that resentment for long, knowing that it would only hurt them in the long run. They instead smiled reassuringly at Alphys, trying not to feel insulted when she just looked stricken.

"I... was... chasing after the punk..." Undyne said, coughing. With Alphys' help (though the lizard monster looked extremely sweaty and like she was about to faint at any moment), Undyne managed to peel off her armor, revealing a black tank top and a pair of simple blue jeans. She even had on a pair of red boots underneath her armored ones. "Fucking... Hotland..."

Alphys squeaked, eyes darting to Frisk as if worried about them catching the swear word, so Frisk carefully schooled their expression into something as innocent and unassuming as possible.

"I-It's okay," Alphys assured Undyne, placing a hand on her shoulder and blushing furiously. "You can, um, relax here. And, figure out what you want to do with the human?"

She seemed unsure of what to do or say, and Frisk found themself relating to her greatly, even as they tensed up. They were pretty sure they knew what Undyne wanted to do with the human, and as the human in question, they didn't support it.

Frisk preferred to stay un-speared for as long as possible. It was actually a great passion of theirs, if they were being honest. A life-long dream.

Undyne narrowed her eye at them, and then looked away with a huff. "I don't have time to deal with that punk right now. I'll - "

Then she paused, both her and Alphys looking down at a spot in Undyne's armor that seemed to be... buzzing?

_ Oh, _ Frisk realized as she fished out a sleek black case. It was a cell phone, one much nicer than the useless brick they were lugging around right now. 

"Yeah, what do you want?" Undyne barked out as she answered the call, brow furrowed in frustration. "I'm kinda in the middle of something right - "

Her mouth snapped shut, and she frowned even harder if that was possible, shooting Frisk a poisonous glare. They backed away, not taking the chance that she might just decide to spear them anyway.

But then her expression changed. She looked almost... contemplative.

"Uh-huh. Sure. I'll... do my best."

She hung up, exchanging a look with Alphys, before she turned to Frisk with a sigh.

"That was Papyrus, as I'm sure you heard," Undyne grumbled with a mutinous expression. Frisk actually did  _ not _ hear it, though that statement did add credibility to their theory that Papyrus had a very loud voice, which was at least something. "He asked me to go easy on you, because you're his friend."

Frisk brightened, giving an honest smile for the first time in what felt like forever. Aw, that was so nice of him! They wished that they could call him and return the favor in kind, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. 

"Don't look so smug!" Undyne barked out, pointing her clawed finger at them. "I'm still gonna keep an eye on you! Who knows how many monsters you could brainwash if I'm not around to stop you?!"

Frisk's brow furrowed in confusion. Brainwash...? They couldn't do that. The only magical thing they could do, apparently, was come back from the dead. And they would really rather have not died in the first place, if that was worth anything.

Alphys let out a nervous giggle, her eyes darting around as she searched for something to change the subject.

"S-So, you're gonna stay with the human as they travel through Hotland?" she said, looking like she was praying that Undyne would say no. 

Honestly, Frisk was really hoping that Undyne would say no too.

But it was to no avail. Though she wrinkled her nose like she had smelled something awful and muttered how much she hated Hotland under her breath, she remained adamant.

"The human needs supervision!" she insisted. Then she paused, before grudgingly adding; "Also, Papyrus asked me to look out for them. At least to make sure they don't, like, fall in the lava or something."

_ No! _ Papyrus! Your kindness has become a curse!

Frisk wanted to wail and cry about their cruel fate, but they graciously restrained themself, giving their two companions a tight-lipped smile instead.

Alphys looked like she was psyching herself up for another argument against it, and Frisk honestly wished her all the luck in the world even though they weren't sure why she was doing it, but that was the moment that the wall on the far right  _ exploded. _

Frisk scrambled backwards, cursing the Underground and everything in it (except Monster Kid). Why did these things keep happening? Was all these jump-scares  _ really _ necessary? One of these days, Frisk would really have a heart-attack, and let's see who's laughing then!

Undyne threw herself protectively over Alphys, who squeaked and seemed about ready to faint, but luckily the blast radius wasn't anywhere near the three of them.

Out of the newly renovated lab wall (which made Frisk wince in sympathy of the repair bill that would cause), a... robot(?) wheeled out. 

They were vaguely box-shaped, with two cartoonish rubber arms and a single wheel to propel them along. They were holding a microphone in their hand, and striking a dramatic pose.

There was a very awkward pause, and the robot turned around to look in their direction before raising their hand to their chassis in an astonished gesture. The lights on their body began to light up, forming a pattern that made Frisk think that they might be speaking.

Of course, Frisk couldn't hear them, so that was only making this encounter highly awkward. 

But the robot must have said something good, because Alphys really  _ did _ faint this time, and Undyne's scales flushed a dark blue, all the way down to her neck. 

"Get the hell out of here!" she shouted, and a spark of blue magic fizzled around her hand. 

The robot seemed to have the same opinion about that as Frisk did, and promptly made a run for it back into the hole they'd come out of, though not without giving Frisk a parting wave.

Faintly amused by the whole thing, Frisk waved back. They had no idea what was going on, but hey, since when was that new?

"D-Don't listen to him!" Undyne sputtered, turning to Frisk and looking like she was about to start threatening them with spears next, which they had  _ definitely _ had enough of, thank you very much.

Frisk put their hands up in a pacifying gesture, and then hesitated for a moment. Should they tell her...? Well, they probably should. If they were going to be traveling together, even for a little while, it was important that she know.

Monster Kid had guessed it all on their own once they saw Frisk signing, but Undyne didn't have that advantage. So they were going to trust her with this, and hope that she proved herself worthy of it.

Frisk gestured to their ears, and then shook their head. When Undyne only stared at them in confusion, they repeated the gesture several times.

Suddenly, her eye widened. "Wait, so... Are you deaf?"

Frisk beamed, giving her a pair of double finger-guns for getting it right. Then, figuring they didn't have anything to lose by trying it, they started signing.

*Hello! My name is F R I S K. This is how I communicate. Please do not throw any more spears at me, I don't like it.*

Undyne blinked, and then shook her head. She actually did seem a little disappointed, though, which helped to make Frisk feel a bit better about the whole thing.

"Sorry, I don't know many signs. And even then, yours are different from the ones I remember."

Frisk frowned in confusion, thinking that they had heard Toriel mention something like that before... There was a monster version of sign language, then? That made sense. If they hadn't had direct contact with humans for centuries, it would stand to reason that they wouldn't be updated on all the nuances of sign language.

Frisk still considered it a miracle that Sans and Papyrus had been able to understand them, let alone be able to sign back. Otherwise they would have been really screwed.

"Well, WHATEVER!" Undyne suddenly bellowed, almost knocking Frisk right off their feet. "Don't think this changes anything! You're still a sneaky human, and I'm gonna keep my one good eye on you, capiche?"

She then turned to try and rouse Alphys, though Frisk could see her mumbling something to herself.

"Though I guess that explains why MK was always moving so that you could see their face whenever they spoke..."

Frisk smiled softly, glad that someone else had picked up on it. That was the kind of casual, unpatronizing help that was so important. Frisk didn't need anyone to try and baby them - they just needed people to put in literally the slightest bit of effort. That was all it took.

Alphys came back to the land of the living with an unintelligible mumble, only to let out a tiny scream when she saw Undyne directly over her.

"Whoa, watch it, Alph!" Undyne said, pulling back. "It's just me."

Alphys blushed heavily, nearly knocking her glasses off her face with how much she was trembling, but she accepted Undyne's hand back up. The two returned to their feet, brushing off their clothes.

Undyne then pointed at Frisk, saying bluntly; "Did you know the kid was deaf?"

Frisk was glad that they had apparently been upgraded from 'criminal' to 'kid' in Undyne's mind.

Alphys' eyes widened, but she gave a hesitant nod after glancing at Frisk for a split-second.

"Well, I-I assumed so, to be honest. At first I thought they were just mute, but then there was certain things they didn't react to when I was monitoring them, so I figured..." she trailed off, but Frisk only walked over, giving her a pat on the back.

That was pretty good detective work, all things considered, though Frisk wasn't sure how they were supposed to feel about Alphys 'monitoring' them. Then again, they were technically considered a security risk right now, weren't they? So they supposed that was fair enough.

After another moment of awkwardness, none of them knowing quite where they were supposed to go from here (and Alphys looking particularly flustered, though Frisk was beginning to suspect that was just her natural state of being), Alphys asked to see Frisk's phone, saying that she could put in an update that might make things easier for them.

That, of course, left Undyne and Frisk alone as she scurried off to mess with the brick that Toriel had given them, which was possibly the most awkward thing that had happened to poor Frisk so far.

The two of them just stared at the ground, avoiding looking at each other and desperately hoping for something to happen.

"That guy..." Undyne said gruffly, catching Frisk's attention. "The robot. You couldn't hear him, right?"

Frisk shook their head. Nope, not even a little.

Undyne grunted in acknowledgement. "Thought so. He's Mettaton, an entertainment robot. He's the Underground's top TV star, who knows why. Alphys created him, so that's probably why he was in the lab, though I have no idea why he decided to come through the fucking  _ wall." _

Frisk bit their lip, trying to hold back their grin, but Undyne must have seen it because she snorted. There was a reluctant amusement in her, too, because her sharp teeth upturned into a sly grin of her own.

Alphys came back a second later, clutching a new, sleek-looking phone. Frisk took it with wide eyes when she handed it to them, half-wondering if she had just thrown the old phone away and given them a new one.

"This one has, um, a transcribing feature," Alphys explained, showing them how to work it. "If you just type what you want to say, the phone will say it out-loud. And it will do that for other people too, so if you come across a monster that you can't lip read, this will let you know what they're saying."

Frisk nearly shook apart from their sheer excitement, grabbing Alphys in a big hug and literally lifting her off the ground. Alphys blushed, letting out a squeal, but it was from happiness, so Undyne reluctantly lowered the spear she had automatically summoned.

Frisk didn't even care. Did Alphys realize how much this would absolutely change Frisk's life?? This was  _ revolutionary! _ Sure, there was some software that did things like that, but this one had an automatic language setting that would translate for practically anything, and it worked extremely fast!

Seriously, Frisk typed out a quick thank you just to test it out, and the phone spit it out as soon as they'd pressed the send button!

Alphys reported that it worked perfectly, with a thrilled look on her face, and Frisk had to resist the urge to pick her up again.

This was  _ amazing! _ Man, when Frisk got back up to the surface, they couldn't wait to show this to Mother!

They messed with the settings a bit more, making the text bigger so that it was easier to read, and so forth, but Undyne quickly became impatient for them to leave.

"C'mon," she said, her sharp grin having a bit of a nasty edge to it that made Frisk feel distinctly uncomfortable. "You want to get  _ home, _ right?"

They weren't sure they liked the emphasis Undyne had put on that.

But still, they did want to get moving, so they waved goodbye to Alphys with the assurance that she would text them if anything came up. She seemed a little worried, Frisk catching something about Mettaton as she turned away, but Frisk dismissed it for now.

Honestly, with Undyne around, they weren't really worried about just one robot. They had enough to deal with.

...

That one robot, as it turned out, was definitely something to be worried about. He seemed to pop up every time they turned a corner, with some kind of puzzle or activity that he wanted Frisk to do.

Now, with the translator, Frisk could understand what he was saying, and honestly?

They loved it.

Sure, Mettaton's continued interference in their journey was a bit of pain, but  _ man, _ was it pain worth living. Everything he did was so incredibly over-dramatic and rigged in his favor, it was actually pretty amazing.

It was so over the top that Frisk found themself looking forward to it, enjoying all of his little game show set-ups and bad acting.

(Plus, he called Frisk things like 'sweetheart' and 'darling' all the time, and they weren't too proud to admit that they blushed every time.)

Undyne, of course, was not nearly as amused. In fact, she appeared to be getting more violent during each encounter, looking like she wanted to throttle Mettaton and throw him in the lava by the latest one.

It had been a cooking show, an extremely rigged one, as always. Mettaton had made sure to go out of his way to make as many fish-related jokes as possible, which Undyne had most certainly not appreciated, even though Frisk secretly did.

At one point, Undyne had claimed that she needed a break, and sent Frisk off to explore up ahead while she supplexed a couple of innocent passersby, or something.

The next area, Frisk discovered, was covered in spider webs, which reminded them of something - their Spider Donut!

As they went further into the darkened area, Frisk grabbed it out of their pocket, nibbling on it. It felt like forever since the last time they'd eaten. When was it?

Oh. It was actually only a couple of hours ago, at the skeleton brothers' place. Sans had brought them some Grillby's.

Frisk sighed at the thought. So much had happened today. They...  _ really _ just wanted to lay down and sleep, but they couldn't afford to. Undyne would not be in support of that much rest, and Frisk doubted that it was a good idea to lay down in the middle of a bunch of spider webs, anyway.

Eventually, though, they did have to stop moving. Not out of any desire for rest, mind you, though that was certainly prevalent in Frisk's mind right now. No, it was because they physically  _ could not move. _

Frisk was almost reminded of Sans' magic, back when they'd first met, but this was different. Mainly because they were not actually being held by magic, and instead had somehow wandered into an extremely thick spider web, and could no longer move or even struggle.

Suddenly, they saw movement out of the corner of their eye.

A beautiful spider woman drifted down, using her silk-like webs to dangle herself from the roof of the cavern.

She had a wicked smile on her face, but it faded away once she saw what Frisk was still holding in their hand - the last few bites of the Spider Donut they had bought in the Ruins. 

"Where did you get that?" she demanded furiously, baring her sharp little fangs in a snarl. "Did you  _ steal _ it, you little sneak-thief?"

Frisk frantically shook their head, struggling and trying to reach their phone so that they would be able to explain.

"No excuses!" she said. "No escape! Sneak-thieves who hurt my cause get  _ punished!" _

The web Frisk was on suddenly shook, and Frisk looked down to see some kind of... giant cupcake. But with fangs, and a  _ horrible, gaping mouth. _

If Frisk had it in them, they would start screaming, but their voice seemed to be stuck in the back of their throat. All they could do was stare at the spider monster in front of them, cursing the fact that they were about to die in a way that was possibly even  _ worse _ than before.

However, thanks to their view, they got a front-row ticket to witnessing the woman receive some sort of note from a tiny spider, like the ones in the Ruins, and all of her eyes widening.

_ "Wait!" _ she cried out, the cupcake monster stopping only inches from Frisk's feet. "There's been a horrible mistake, let them out!"

Frisk shivered when the cupcake monster's legs reached out, gently untangling Frisk from the web. It let Frisk down without a fuss, even kindly petting their head, but Frisk couldn't help but be glad it was gone.

The spider woman crawled over to them, dropping down from her webs to land in front of Frisk. She fussed over them, using one of her arms to pat Frisk on the cheek, and another couple to carefully remove the spider webs that had gotten caught on Frisk's hair and clothing.

"Oh, dearie, forgive me!" she said, looking genuinely mournful. "I just got a telegram from my relatives in the Ruins. They said that you bought many pastries from them! I thought that you were a bad child who hated spiders. I'm so sorry, dearie. My name is Muffet, by the way. I hope you can forgive me for this awful thing."

Frisk smiled up at her, gently patting the hand that was still on their cheek. Muffet smiled down at them, and it somehow wasn't nearly as frightening when she was close enough that they could see all of the cupcake and bakery-themed details she had sewn into her dress.

Then, Muffet pulled herself away, looking over to the left with all of her eyes blinking in surprise. Frisk turned to follow her line of sight, and saw Undyne barreling towards them, a spear in hand and fury in her eyes.

Frisk shrank back, unsure of who Undyne was angry with, and was greatly surprised when Muffet pulled them behind her and stepped into Undyne's path, an angry look of her own on her face.

"Ahuhuhu, are you enjoying stomping through all of my beautiful webs, Captain?" Muffet said, face looking utterly pleasant even though Frisk got the idea that she was being anything but.

Undyne grimaced, slowing in her assault, but she didn't back down, pointing her spear directly at Muffet's face.

"Step away from the kid!" Undyne barked, and Frisk had to resist a sigh. She was probably still convinced that Frisk was using mind-washing powers to take control of all the monsters they met. Nothing Frisk had said so far had been able to dissuade her of that idea - "They're under my protection! An act of aggression against them is equal to an act of aggression against  _ me! _ So, unless you feel like tasting my spears today, I suggest you  _ step away." _

...What? Frisk was stunned, and Muffet let out a tittering laugh as she stepped to the side, allowing Undyne to march over to Frisk's side and bristle protectively.

"Ahuhuhu, Captain, you wound me!" she laughed. "I would not harm a hair on this little dearies' head.  _ Anymore." _

"What was that?" Undyne snarled, and Frisk was still utterly astounded at the aggressiveness that she was portraying on their behalf.

"Nothing, nothing! Come back any time!" Muffet grabbed her webs, still laughing to herself as she swung off into the darkness once more, leaving Undyne and Frisk alone.

Undyne turned, catching sight of the wonder on their expression, and actually blushed, scratching at the bridge of her nose.

"Well, I just..." she stumbled for an explanation, scolding when Frisk started rocking back and forth on their heels, nearly shaking with their excitement over this newfound development. "I don't need to give you an explanation!"

Undyne then stomped off in the direction of the exit, only slowing down briefly to let Frisk catch up, which they did gleefully.

How  _ delightful! _ Undyne was actually starting to like them! If she hadn't tried to explain herself, or simply walked away, Frisk would have thought she was just angry about someone else trying to steal her kill, but that stuttering explanation made the situation all too obvious.

Perfect!  _ Wonderful! _ Frisk fully approved! They didn't even care that Undyne had killed them anymore, they were just too thrilled!

Practically floating on air, Frisk followed happily behind Undyne like a little duckling, making her snort when she looked behind her to see that Frisk was practically trodding on her heels.

After walking through a normal hallway, they seemed to end up on some kind of... stage? Frisk had no idea how they'd gotten here, or how they hadn't noticed this entire theatrical set sooner, but they definitely knew who was responsible!

Mettaton!

The robot rolled down a long set of stairs, wearing a beautiful blue dress and singing some kind of opera song - or at least according to their transcriber.

Frisk sniggered to themself at the difference in the lyrics and the atmosphere, reaching up to catch one of the cherry blossoms that floated by.

After his song finished, Mettaton hung awkwardly in place, seeming like he was waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he recovered quickly, thanking the audience for viewing and leaving the stage in a hurry.

"This is so weird," Undyne commented, frowning. "I may not be a huge fan of the guy, but he knows what he's doing. I've never seen him get screwed up like this."

Frisk made a questioning sound, grabbing Undyne's attention.

She huffed, shrugging her shoulders. "I just mean, it's pretty obvious that some things haven't been going right with his show today. Whoever's responsible is gonna get their ass fired big time, believe me."

Frisk merely nodded contemplatively. They didn't use the transcriber much for themself, since they were honestly used to it, but it also didn't feel like they had to, with Undyne. She always seemed to know what they wanted to say.

...

They ended up at a resort, eventually, one with Mettaton's name and brand plastered all over it. Frisk had desperately wanted to stop at the burger place inside, but Undyne had merely rolled her eyes and shoved a couple of crab apples in their hands instead.

Crab apples were gross, but they were food, so Frisk knew better than to complain. Directly following the resort was something Alphys had described as the CORE. She had been texting the two of them on-and-off, telling them little tidbits and history of the areas they were passing through. Frisk noticed that she actually seemed a bit more confident when texting  _ them _ over when she was texting Undyne, and Frisk figured that was because of her huge crush on the sharp-toothed fish woman.

Oh yeah, it was obvious. Slightly painful in how obvious it was, to be honest, and Mettaton seemed to believe that too, because he took every single possibility he could to complain,  _ loudly, _ about how lonely Alphys was, and how she would definitely love someone 'tall, strong, and preferably blue' to take care of her.

Undyne definitely recognized the jab for what it was, but she didn't seem to believe it was truthful, because she only grew more angry as time went on.

But Mettaton didn't appear at all as they traveled through the CORE, relying on Alphys' directions as well as Undyne's vague memory of the layout. She complained that it was possible to switch around the hallways of the CORE, which made it hard to remember where everything went, but the two of them managed to get through with little trouble.

Then, they came upon a door.

Frisk went through first, Undyne having stayed behind for a moment to mess with the elevator, when the door shut behind them.

None of Undyne's furious pounding let her through, and Frisk turned with wide eyes to where Mettaton had laid himself out on a large, ornate couch, a rose taped to the front of his chassis. 

Frisk could practically see the anime sparkles around him.

Then, the box began flashing, and Frisk's transcriber rapidly translated what the robot was saying.

"Finally!" Mettaton said, rising from the couch with a flourish that should not be possible from what was really just a toaster on wheels. "I thought that I would never get you alone, darling."

He rolled up to them, and turned his back, revealing... a big switch. With the word SWITCH written underneath it in very obvious letters.

"Mind flipping that, gorgeous?"

Frisk blinked, but did as they were asked, reaching out and flipping the switch. 

A cloud of smoke emerged from Mettaton's body, and they saw his shape in the shadows, changing into something else entirely.

When he stepped out, Frisk's jaw dropped. Mettaton had changed to a bipedal body, one that looked almost exactly like a human. He smiled widely at them, flipping the fringe of his hair and striking a pose.

"Is this better, darling? I know that using a transcriber all the time can be tiring."

Frisk could only nod, mouth still wide open. This was so  _ cool! _

Mettaton smiled at the wonder in their expression, and it actually made him look a bit less arrogant, and more soft.

"Yes, it's wonderful, isn't it? Alphys built it to my exact specifications, that absolute dear. So I owe her a lot... Which is  _ why, _ when she saw how wonderful a human you were, I agreed to help her trick you."

Frisk blinked in surprise, wondering when such a thing had happened. 

Mettaton dramatically brought a hand to his forehead, sighing. "Yes, yes, all of my little encounters with you were entirely scripted! A ploy to make Alphys look like the hero, coming to save you in the eleventh hour. But... with an  _ actual _ heroine by your side, that all got kind of derailed, you see."

Ah.  _ Undyne. _ Yeah, Frisk could see where the problem was now.

"I have no problem with humans," Mettaton said, waving a hand dismissively. "All I want is to entertain. I would love it if I could do that on the surface, with humans as part of my lovely audience. But I can't do that if Asgore kills them all."

He pinned Frisk with a piercing look, asking if they  _ really _ understood. Frisk solemnly nodded.

Mettaton studied them for a moment longer, before he broke out into a grin once more. "Wonderful! Now, before you go, would you be willing to help me put on one more show? I think it's about time I give this body its debut!"

He explained his plan, showing Frisk how to use the 'yellow' button on their phone to shoot yellow magic at him. It would harm his body, but not his soul, because it had no actual intent behind it. Which was exactly what he was looking for, during this dramatic performance.

A stage soon brought the two of them up to a higher level, a live audience waiting. Frisk danced around and struck poses, easily dodging all of Mettaton's blows as they fought against the 'killer robot'.

Eventually, they managed to destroy Mettaton's arms and legs, as well as bring his ratings up to an astronomical high, which was exactly what he had been hoping for.

He gave one last tearful speech to the audience, proclaiming that Frisk had earned his respect and admiration, before running out of battery power and falling dormant.

He had warned Frisk about that beforehand, thankfully, so they didn't get worried, though Alphys apparently didn't get the memo. 

She rushed in, seconds after Mettaton deactivated, with Undyne at her heels. She looked like she was about to burst into tears, and Undyne hovered around her, trying to figure out how to help. 

"Do you want me to carry him, or something?" Undyne said desperately, but when Alphys looked up at her, she actually did dissolve into sobs.

"I-I'm so s-sorry!" she cried out, staggering to her feet. "I've been lying to you, I've been lying to everyone! I-I, I need to go!"

Alphys raced off before anyone could stop her, Frisk and Undyne staring at her, stunned. But then Undyne turned to them, and Frisk saw a flash of the Captain of the Royal Guard in her expression. 

"...The King's castle is right beyond that door," she revealed, pointing to the entrance her and Alphys had come out of. "Just take the elevator up. Don't worry, I'll take care of Alphys and this old bucket of bolts."

She lifted what was left of Mettaton's body onto her shoulders, and gave Frisk one final glance before stepping around them to follow after Alphys.

Frisk could only watch her go, somehow thinking that they had stumbled into something that was bigger than they were capable of dealing with. Inside them, their heart was screaming for them to follow, to go help Mettaton get fixed and figure out what Alphys was so afraid of.

But they couldn't.

They had to keep moving forward.

So, with a heavy heart but determination in their eyes, Frisk headed towards the elevator that would bring them to the King's castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> frisk: i know exactly what i'm doing and everything is great!  
> undyne: you sure?  
> frisk: ...yes. probably.
> 
> we're winding down now, everybody! stay tuned! and i hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	10. your non-existence before you were born

Frisk was, for once, pretty glad that they couldn't see the TV screen. From the screaming, it seemed like 'Mettaton' was the host of a game show with some very serious consequences. Every once in a while, when there was some particularly gross noise, Flowey would flinch back against them, making a gagging sound.

Yep, Frisk wasn't interested in this kind of reality TV.

Sans seemed to find it vaguely amusing, laughing every once in a while, but he was apparently more bored than anything, since they could feel the way he moved the couch every time he shifted in place. According to what Flowey whispered in their ear, Mettaton was actually the only channel in the Underground, so if you wanted to watch anything on live TV, it had to be him. 

Mettaton was also apparently a robot, which Frisk, admittedly, did find pretty cool. But pretty much everything else about his aesthetic was really not their style.

Luckily, it wasn't too long before Papyrus finished his spaghetti, which made Sans cackle in a very ominous manner.

Flowey winced, but directed Frisk to grab some anyway. Frisk got the distinct impression that Papyrus was not a very good cook, but it wasn't like they could refuse. So, Frisk prepared to suffer through it with a brave face - which, honestly, was something they were rather practiced in doing.

But after spearing through some noodles and bringing them to their mouth (with a little difficulty, seeing as they were trying to not get sauce everywhere), Frisk found themself pleasantly surprised.

"Wow, this is pretty good!" They remarked, hearing Sans mutter something under his breath and Flowey trying to suppress his laughter against their sweater. "Thanks, Papyrus."

Papyrus preened at the praise. "OF COURSE IT IS! I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS MADE IT! DOES IT SUFFICE AS A FINAL MEAL, HUMAN?"

"Sure," Frisk said, busy stuffing their face.

To be honest, it wasn't  _ great. _ The noodles were soft and almost soggy, but Frisk personally believed that was a much better outcome than having them be crunchy, so they were willing to take what they could get. The sauce was fine, if a little watery. So all in all, it certainly wasn't the  _ best _ pasta Frisk had ever had, but they were willing to overlook its faults, considering that it might very well end up as their last meal.

Well, for now, at least. They still weren't sure what had happened the last time they died, and they really had to ask Flowey about that. Hopefully they would get some time alone in the future, without the skeleton brothers there to interfere.

"i dunno, boss," Sans interjected. Frisk hadn't heard his fork so much as scrape across the plate, so he apparently wasn't getting any spaghetti for himself. "they haven't even had grillby's yet. who's to say that they might not prefer some of that?"

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Papyrus boomed out, slamming his hands down on the table. "THAT GREASE BAR, HAVING BETTER FOOD THAN ME? RIDICULOUS. AWFUL. I'M ASHAMED OF YOU FOR EVEN SAYING THAT. ZERO STARS!"

"aw, c'mon boss - "

"ABSOLUTELY NOT."

"but i - "

"NO BUTS!"

Frisk giggled, unable to help themself. The two's bickering halted, and a sudden silence overtook the table.

"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY, HUMAN?"

Frisk shrank back into themself, holding one hand up to cradle Flowey against themself for comfort. "Oh, I just... I just think you guys have a nice relationship. That's all."

_ "a nice relationship?" _ Sans said in disbelief. "that's  _ really _ what you think when you see us?"

Frisk just shrugged, unsure of what else to say. They almost made a little quip about not being able to  _ see _ anything, but considering current company as what it was, they figured that wouldn't be the best idea.

"Yeah," they said instead. "It's nice. I've never had a sibling. It must be really reassuring to know that there's always someone around that you can rely on."

There was another beat of silence, and Flowey, who had remained quiet all this time, tensed against them, as if prepared to attack. Frisk quietly stroked his petals, trying to silently tell him to wait. Sure, Frisk couldn't see their expressions or postures, but their questions hadn't seemed aggressive, or even angry. Just disbelieving.

"YES, WELL," Papyrus said, actually sounding rather pleased to Frisk's surprise. "I SUPPOSE YOU ARE NOT A COMPLETE MORON, HUMAN. I COMMEND YOU FOR INTERPRETING OUR BROTHERLY BOND SO WELL."

"boss...?" Sans sounded surprised at his brother's proclamation, but Frisk could sense a kind of happiness from him too.

It seemed that the two skeletons didn't often voice their love for each other - unsurprising, considering what this place was like, so even something like that was a big sacrifice.

Frisk smiled, happy that they had been able to do at least that much.

Before long, everyone had finished their food (everyone who actually ate, anyway), and Papyrus made a loud sound like he was clearing his throat.

"I HAVE MADE A DECISION," Papyrus stated, and Frisk made an acknowledging hum as they waited for him to continue. He'd probably decided what epithet he wanted to put on Frisk's tombstone, or something like that. "I HAVE TO GO DO LAUNDRY!"

_ What? _

"I WILL BE DOING THIS UPSTAIRS, AND FOR QUITE SOME TIME. I EXPECT SANS WILL BE TAKING A NAP IN ORDER TO AVOID HIS RESPONSIBILITIES, AS HE OFTEN DOES. IF A HUMAN WERE TO LEAVE DURING THIS TIME, WHY... THERE WOULD BE NOTHING EITHER OF US COULD DO TO STOP THEM! HOW TERRIBLE! WHO WOULD ALLOW SUCH A THING TO HAPPEN?! ...ANYWAY, I'M GOING NOW. BYE."

With that, Frisk heard Papyrus tromp up the stairs, probably jumping them two at a time based on how loud he was. Sans chuckled, pushing back from the table and heading to the couch.

"you heard him," Sans said, letting out a loud yawn as he dropped himself on top of the rickety piece of furniture. "would sure be a shame if some human were to escape, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Frisk could only sit at the table for a long moment, completely stunned, but with Flowey hissing in their ear, they did eventually get up, heading for the door without delay.

They highly doubted that Sans was already asleep, but he did nothing to stop them as they opened the front door and snuck out, only chuckling to himself.

"see you around, kiddo."

Frisk quietly closed the front door and quickly jumped off the porch, heading to the right as Flowey had instructed them.

"That... was  _ weird," _ they said, furrowing their brow in confusion. "Did you have any idea they were just gonna let us go like that?"

"No, though I had hoped," Flowey admitted. "Papyrus really isn't as bad a guy as he pretends to be, and Sans is lazy. He tends to just go along with whatever his brother wants, so I was definitely hoping for an outcome like this. Otherwise, they probably would have escorted us straight to Undyne, and she wouldn't fall for the same kind of flattery. She would have just speared you through immediately."

Frisk shivered at the thought. "Ugh, no thank you."

There was a moment of charged silence between the two of them as they headed closer to the border of Waterfall, the air growing more humid as the two opposing climates clashed.

"What happened back there?" Frisk said finally, breaking the precarious silence that had enveloped them. "You talked about 'loading'... Does that have to do with how I came back?"

Flowey sighed, and then nodded, his petals brushing against their skin. "That's what I called a part of my power. LOAD, SAVE, and RESET. I could 'save' at a particular point in time, and then 'load' back there whenever I wanted to. I could also do a full 'reset' and go back to the beginning, where I made my first SAVE point."

Frisk nodded along, thinking that it was about what they had expected. They'd discussed the possibility with Chara in the void, so it was nice to get some confirmation. Still...

"Only 'could'?" Frisk asked, having picked up on the ambiguous wording there. "I remember you tried to do it earlier, when I died, but you said it didn't work. Can you not do it anymore?"

"It seems so," Flowey murmured. "I... I had no idea. I've been going through this with the thought that at least, if anything happened to you, I could do a LOAD and make sure that it didn't happen again, but now I can't even do  _ that." _

"I still came back," Frisk said confidently, gripping Flowey a little tighter in something that could almost be described as a hug. "I don't know if I somehow got your powers, or if it's something else at work, but I  _ did _ come back. And if something happens again, I'll keep coming back. I promise."

Flowey drew in a shaky breath, nuzzling against Frisk's cheek gently. "I'll hold you to that. I'm only sorry that I can't do more."

"What you do is more than enough," Frisk insisted. "I never would have been able to get this far without you. Hell, I can't even see where I'm going! I would've definitely fallen into a river and drowned by now if it wasn't for you."

"Don't say things like that!" Flowey squawked, but Frisk could hear a bit of laughter in it too.

They smiled, feeling accomplished. They might not have all the answers right now, but that was alright. Having Flowey by their side was more than enough of a reward.

...

"There are no guards in Waterfall, because this is all Undyne's territory," Flowey explained, directing Frisk around the larger puddles in their way. "I know how to get around her, though. I'm practically an expert by now, though I don't like to brag."

"Of course not," Frisk giggled. "Why would you be the type to brag? Why, I can hardly even imagine such a thing!"

"Ugh!" Flowey said in mock-complaint, rubbing his petals against Frisk's face and making them squeal in delighted surprise. "You're such a brat! Taste the power of my face!"

Frisk squirmed, still laughing as they tried to push Flowey off of them. "No! Knock it off, you're gonna give me pollen allergies!"

"Too bad! That's your punishment!"

"No!"

Frisk was still messing around with their flower friend when someone bumped into them from behind, sending them falling face-first into a huge puddle.

"Oh, excuse me!" the monster said, giggling in a way that made Frisk think that they weren't actually looking to be excused. "I'm just  _ so _ clumsy, my bad!"

Frisk clambered back onto their feet, wrinkling their nose in disgust as their sweater made a very uncomfortable squelching noise.

"It's okay," they dismissed it, shaking out their sleeves in hopes of getting them to dry faster. "My clothes will dry soon enough, so it's not really a big deal."

Flowey huffed against their ear, leaning over to talk to the other monster. "Seriously though, Monster Kid, watch it. I've already had my bath today, thanks."

"Oh, Flowey!" Monster Kid said, sounding genuinely surprised. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. Why are you hanging around this weirdo?"

Frisk facepalmed. Apparently Monster Kid had decided to drop their friendly facade pretty quick. As if shoving them into a puddle wasn't enough of a clue.

"They're my friend," Flowey said calmly. Frisk could feel the way that his vines were bristling slightly, but he impressively kept himself under control. "I'm showing them the way to the capital."

"That's dumb," Monster Kid scoffed, and Frisk could hear something swishing against the ground as they spoke. A tail, maybe? "Why would anyone wanna go the capital? It's so boring there, almost as boring as Snowdin! It's way more fun in Waterfall. In Waterfall, you get to see Undyne!"

Yes, that was actually what they were trying to avoid.

"Well, we don't wanna see Undyne," Flowey said, unknowingly echoing Frisk's thoughts. 

Monster Kid made a sound like they had been shot in the heart, gasping dramatically. "How can you  _ not _ want to see Undyne?? Dumbass!"

Frisk made a clucking noise with their tongue. "Look, it's nothing personal. We should get going, anyway."

"Yeah," Flowey agreed, and then added slyly; "And hey, Monster Kid, aren't your parents going to be wondering where you are? Seems kinda irresponsible to just run off like that."

"Please, I don't care about that!" Monster Kid sneered imperiously, giving a disdainful sniff. "They just don't understand. Undyne's the coolest monster ever, and I'm gonna be just like her one day! And if I want to do that, I have to follow her around all the time, duh!"

"...Right," Frisk said agreeably, even if they didn't really see the logic there. "Good luck, then!"

Frisk turned to walk away, ignoring the other child's sputtering. They really did have to get moving, or else Undyne might actually show up to see what all the commotion was about. 

Flowey told them which direction to go, helping them to not get lost in Waterfall's many, many dead ends. Honestly, Frisk thought it was a little excessive. Why would someone purposefully make a bunch of tunnels leading to nowhere?

Sure, they knew the reason why - the same reason they had all the puzzles, and the same reason for all the spikes in the Ruins; to trap humans. But it still seemed like a bit too much, in their opinion.

Flowey regained his previous position of scaring away any of the monsters that tried to come over and see what was going on, hissing and lashing out at them with his vines if they attempted to interfere.

Frisk honestly wouldn't have minded trying to talk to some of them, but the monsters that lived outside the towns seemed more... feral, than most. More volatile. Some of them didn't even speak, only screeching and throwing attacks at Frisk immediately.

They were starting to get much better at dodging, at the very least.

But Flowey kept them out of trouble, showing them all kinds of shortcuts and ways to get around trouble. He was able to neatly avoid all of the areas that Undyne typically patrolled, and avoid any confrontations with the intimidating captain.

"What is Undyne like?" Frisk asked, splashing their way through a small puddle. "Monster Kid was pretty enamored with her, right?"

"Yeah, that's always been the case," Flowey acknowledged. "They've been following Undyne around for literal  _ years, _ they weren't kidding about that. Not sure how much progress they've made, but they know more about Undyne than probably anyone except Alphys."

"Alphys?" Frisk asked curiously. They almost regretted it when Flowey let out a shuddering sigh, hanging his head.

"She's, um... the Royal Scientist. She's in love with Undyne, so she knows the most about her, for sure."

"Oh," Frisk uttered simply. They didn't press on that subject, knowing by the way he was twitching that Flowey didn't feel comfortable about it. Instead, they went back to their original question. "What do you know about Undyne, then? If she's got so many monsters in her corner, she's got to be pretty impressive, right?"

"I  _ guess _ she is," Flowey said grudgingly. "She's annoyingly tough, for one. Never gives up, no matter what. That's a trait to be admired, but she takes it a very impressive extreme."

"Is she nice?" Frisk asked, tilting their head to the side. Sure, it was cool that Undyne was so strong, but that didn't say much about her personality.

"Are you kidding? No way," Flowey said bluntly, making Frisk let out a laugh. "'Nice' is nowhere in her job description. She's not a bully or anything, and she'll actually go out of her way to help monsters if they get trapped somewhere, or things like that, but she's not gonna be  _ nice _ about it."

"Pff, that's fair enough," Frisk laughed, feeling a bit more cheerful now. They were stuck underground in a cave full of monsters that wanted to kill them, but things were actually going pretty okay despite that.

...

"Okay, I know you can't see it, but we're approaching the cliff-face," Flowey said, tugging on Frisk's hair to make them pay attention. 

They'd been able to get a ride from a little bird that had carried them across a disproportionately small gap, which Flowey said cut down their travel time immensely. Now, they were almost to Hotland.

"I'm a bit surprised that we didn't run into Undyne," Frisk said, walking forward carefully on the rocky ground. "Not that I'm trying to jinx it or anything, but it is kinda weird. Given our luck, I figured she would be waiting for us behind every corner."

"Hey, I told you that I was the best, didn't I?" Flowey said, puffing up in pride. "When I was first getting the hang of my powers, I actually messed with her a lot. Nobody's memories carry over after you LOAD, but I think something must have reminded her, because Undyne has always been out for my metaphorical blood since then. I've had a lot of practice getting around her."

"Pfft, I can't imagine why," Frisk said teasingly, reaching up and poking Flowey when he hissed at them.

"Let's just keep moving," Flowey said, sighing. "To be honest, I'm a little worried about the lab... Alphys knows who I am, and she doesn't like me much. If I show up with you there, then she might just attack you on principle."

Frisk winced. "Well, is there another way to get around?"

"There's the elevators, but they break down all the time," Flowey explained. "We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose."

Then, he grabbed their neck, restricting their breathing for a second.

"Wait!"

"What, what?" Frisk said, choking slightly. Flowey immediately loosened his grip, brushing his petal along Frisk's cheek apologetically, but he remained tense. 

"I think I see something," he murmured, and Frisk could feel the way he extended his head up to try and get a better look. "Is someone... standing up there? Wait OH SHIT - "

Directly above where Frisk was standing, there was a violent cry as someone tried to jump down on top of them.

"Oh, what the fuck!" Flowey yelled, yanking Frisk out of the way with his vines. They let out a bitten-off scream in surprise, trying to scramble away from whatever was after them.

"Don't you dare run, human!" a brash voice yelled, sounding way too close for comfort. "You're the enemy of the Underground! If I let you survive, I would be spitting in the face of all the monsters who were killed before me! So face me, human! And stop running away!"

Frisk was not listening, however, because they were too busy running for their life. 

"You PUNK! Get back here!"

"Is that Undyne?" Frisk yelped, not daring to stop for even a second. Even if it wasn't, this clearly wasn't a monster that they wanted to cross!

"Yeah, just  _ run!" _ Flowey shouted, and they could feel him shifting in agitation, clearly itching to try and whip his vines out against Undyne.

But Frisk didn't bother to comment any further, merely concentrating on moving forward. Flowey told them when there was a turn coming up, and they followed his judgement, hurtling around the high stones and craggy cliffs.

God, they'd been through some terrifying things in their life, but never anything quite like this. Even before, when they had been dodging monsters and running without a care, it hadn't been like  _ this. _

Frisk was literally depending entirely on Flowey to keep them alive right now. They were running on the edge of a cliff, and it would only take a single misstep for them to meet quite a nasty fate.

"I said STOP RUNNING!" Undyne screamed behind them, sounding so horribly enraged that it was actually enough to make tears spring to Frisk's eyes. 

They didn't want this - they didn't want  _ any _ of this! They had never wanted to be trapped Underground, they had never wanted to die down here for a bunch of monsters that didn't even know what they were fighting for!

But as they sucked in a shaky breath, doggedly pressing on, they knew that wasn't fair. Flowey had things to fight for. So did Toriel, and Sans, and Papyrus. And undoubtedly Undyne, too, had something that she believed in so deeply that she was willing to go to such great lengths.

"I'm sorry!" they called out, ducking their head down even as they tried to respond to their pursuer. "But killing me isn't going to solve your problems, and killing me won't bring them back!"

Flowey let out a strangled gasp, clearly not having expected them to say something like that, but what else could they do?

"You don't know ANYTHING!" Undyne raged. "Just stay still and let me KILL YOU ALREADY!!"

Frisk shook their head, biting their lip as they continued forward. Undyne clearly wasn't in the mood to listen to them, and they didn't have the luxury of sitting down and having a friendly chat with her right now.

They turned the corner when Flowey warned them to, nearly staggering against the sudden heat wave that pressed against them almost physically.

"It's alright, this is just the entrance to Hotland!" he shouted in their ear, trying to be heard over the sound of Undyne's enraged roars. "Just keep moving!"

Frisk did as instructed, ignoring the way sweat was tracing in rivers down their sweater, and trying desperately not to collapse from heat and hunger and the million other things that were afflicting them at the moment.

Thankfully, the sound of Undyne's armored boots stomping on the ground right behind them was a pretty good motivator.

Then, they heard her pace falter.

"N-No!" she panted. "I can't give up now... I won't give up now!"

Frisk almost wanted to turn around and find out what was happening, but Flowey tugged on their hair, urging them forward. 

"Come on!" he said. "Just a little bit farther, and we can make our move!"

Make our move? What the heck did that mean? The only thing Frisk was concerned about right now was getting the hell out of here!

But they didn't even have the opportunity to question him, because Frisk almost stumbled back when their feet hit what must have been a rickety wooden bridge.

"Almost there!" Flowey said, and the desperation in his voice was enough to give Frisk a surge of energy, sprinting across the bridge and suddenly glad that they couldn't see what was beneath it.

Judging by the immense heat in both the air and what felt like under their sneakers, it was nothing good. Hadn't Flowey mentioned that Hotland had lava pools?

Terrible. Awful. Zero stars, Frisk did not approve.

Frisk's feet hit the other side, letting out a tiny, triumphant laugh of exhilaration when they realized they had made it to safe ground at last.

"Don't sound... so smug... you punk!" Undyne wheezed, sounding truly awful at this point.

This time, Frisk was brought to a pause not by their own (admittedly weakened) sense of morals, but by Flowey hissing in a cold, cruel manner.

"We'll see who's smug, fish bitch!" he snarled, and Frisk felt him shift on their shoulder, making them wince when he dug his thorns in deeper.

There was the strange rustling sound that Frisk had come to associate with him pulling out the big guns - his huge, almost arm-like vines.

For a second, they almost didn't comprehend it, and when they did, they let out a startled yelp.

"H-Hey, wait! What are you doing?" they asked, feeling rather alarmed when all Flowey did was let out a scoff.

"I'm taking care of her," he bit out, and when his face brushed faintly against Frisk's shoulder, they felt the wide, almost demonic grin that had taken over his expression. "She pretty much can't move at this point. Idiot should have known better than to try and follow us into Hotland fearing heavy armor like that. All I have to do is cut the bridge... Then, bye-bye Undyne!"

What?

Frisk was honestly stunned. Sure, Flowey had always been protective over them in the past. And he'd never had any qualms over attacking other monsters, even ones that hadn't necessarily attacked them first. But he had never done anything like this... Had he?

Not for the first time, Frisk was struck with a horrid reminder of what it really meant to be blind. There was so many things like this that Flowey could just do, could get past them without Frisk ever being the wiser!

Hell, if he hadn't actually bothered to say anything out-loud, they probably wouldn't have noticed anything this time either! They would have probably heard Undyne fall into the lava or something similar, but Flowey was very good at explaining things away - he'd done it enough times with other monsters, including Papyrus.

He could have said that the bridge wasn't able to hold her weight, that she had accidentally severed it with one of her attacks, anything. Frisk would have  _ believed _ him.

_ God, _ that was a terrifying thought. 

And Frisk... Frisk didn't necessarily like the monsters. Didn't want to go out of their way to spend time with them, by any means. But this...

This was something that they just couldn't abide. It had nothing to do with Undyne, or even Flowey. Frisk simply held onto a very few core beliefs that could not be challenged, the one places where they could not be persuaded.

That was why they knew, here, more than anywhere else, it was important for them to say that.

Flowey tensed in preparation of the blow, and under the hiss and bubble of the lava underneath them, Frisk thought that they could almost hear the sound of Undyne's ragged breathing.

If there was ever a time to say something, it was now.

"Flowey, wait!"

He froze. Frisk could feel it, could feel it in the way even his leaves didn't quiver.

"Wait?" he said tightly, and he shifted on their shoulder so that he could look at their face. "Why should I wait? I've never been able to get this far! She's always pulled out that blasted Determination of hers and killed me before I got a chance to put a word in edgewise. If I kill her here, she won't attack you anymore! She won't be a threat anymore! Isn't that better, for both of us?"

Frisk felt horribly guilty, but they had to stick to this. They couldn't let go here, or all of their conviction up to this point would be meaningless. No matter how much it hurt them to know that Flowey had been suffering, that he was afraid of Undyne to such a point.

Because that's what it was -  _ fear. _ Frisk cold sense things like that from a mile away, and they weren't ashamed of it.

How could they be? How could anyone not be afraid of the things that scared them, the things that could change them as a person in such a final way?

It... It wasn't fun, or easy. A lot of the time, it wasn't good. But it was needed.

And here, standing in the face of Flowey's fear, Frisk refused to let it control them.

"It's not  _ necessary," _ they said quietly, but firmly. "I'm sorry that it happened to you. I'm sorry that I won't say yes. But I can't."

There was silence, for a long moment. Then, Flowey sneered, and Frisk actually flinched at how legitimately angry he sounded.

"You're just like all the rest," he spat out. "Too weak-willed. Don't you know that being nice to others only gets you hurt?"

"That's not true," Frisk retorted, not willing to let him go down that path. "I've been nice to you, and it has only brought me joy. You're my friend, and I care about you."

"Even though I got you killed?" Flowey asked bitterly, his mouth curling into a twisted grin.

"But you...  _ didn't," _ Frisk said slowly. "Sure, I got hurt. But that wasn't your fault, or anybody else's. Sometimes...  _ sometimes _ awful things just happen, and there's nothing you can do to prevent it. All you can do is work with what you have left."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Flowey said impatiently, but Frisk noticed that they heard the sound of his vines retracting. "Just so you know, though, I'm pretty sure Undyne is gonna die anyway. I think she's suffocating."

"What?" Frisk cried in alarm, straining to hear anything from the violent fish-woman. "Is there any water near here, or something?"

"We're in  _ Hotland," _ Flowey scoffed. "There is literally huge pools of lava directly underneath us, and you think there's water around here?"

"Well, is there?" they asked shrilly, knowing better than to take Flowey's sarcasm at face-value by now.

Flowey grunted, but then proceeded to direct them towards a water cooler that was only a few feet away, apparently left there for thirsty travelers. Flowey took great joy in describing all of the vulgar graffiti that was scrawled over it.

Frisk's hands were shaking as they filled up a little plastic cup, wondering if this would be enough. Deciding no, it probably wouldn't, they grabbed a second cup as well, awkwardly using their elbow to push the button and fill it up. 

Then, steadily, they made their way back over to Undyne, holding the two cups of water in their hands. Flowey showed them exactly where to stand, and then sighed.

"Just dump it on her head," he said grudgingly, and Frisk did as he suggested.

It probably would have been better to try and pour it into her mouth, but Frisk did not particularly want to bend down and try to aim water into the mouth of a monster who would almost certainly reach up and try to chew their arm off.

They poured the water onto Undyne's head, hoping that it would be enough to let her recover a bit. They didn't necessarily want her to get well enough to start chasing them again, but if she was smart she would know that she couldn't continue doing that in this environment anyway -

A hand, covered with scales and roughed scars, grabbed onto Frisk's leg.

They reacted immediately, dropping the little plastic cups even as they internally winced at the littering. Their hands shot up to keep Flowey in place, not letting him lash out just yet.

"Wait!" they cried, and Frisk could feel both Flowey and Undyne freeze. "Let's just... think about this, okay? This isn't the time or place to be fighting. We'll fall right off the bridge if we're not careful!"

"It would serve you right, human scum!" Undyne snarled, and there was such a sense of  _ hatred _ in her voice that it made Frisk want to shrink away.

She acted like this was  _ personal, _ like Frisk had done something unforgivable. What could it possibly be?

"Don't you fucking dare!" Flowey growled back in reply, and Frisk almost smacked their forehead if they weren't busy holding him in place. That was totally not helping.

"It's okay, it's okay," they tried to soothe, doing their best to smooth things over enough for the two groups to go their separate ways. Frisk had no delusions about them all becoming  _ friends, _ or anything like that, but they weren't interested in having Undyne race after them throughout the rest of the Underground.

Believe it or not, Frisk really didn't want to deal with a raging fish monster on their metaphorical tail for the rest of their life. Which was looking to be rather short, at this point. 

"I know - well," Frisk hesitated for only a moment, before they forged onwards. They couldn't allow themself to get caught by this. "I... I don't actually know how you feel, Undyne. I don't know the ways you've suffered."

"You're right! So why - "

"And I'm sorry," Frisk continued, wincing as they cut her off, but knowing that it was necessary if they ever wanted to finish their thought without her getting sick of them and tossing them off the bridge. "I'm sorry that you were locked Underground. I'm sorry that monsters have suffered for so long and changed so much because of it. If there was a way for me to help you, I swear, I would do it in a heartbeat."

"There is a way for you to help, if you really care!" Undyne hissed. "Give up your soul. Free monsters from our imprisonment, and let us finally see the sun again!"

Frisk's heart ached. If they thought they could free the monsters, they would. But not like this, and not with the way they were now. Because -

"That won't be enough for you, right?" Frisk said, saying the words out loud that they had been pondering for what felt like forever. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that this hurt you all so badly, and I wish that there was a way I could help you, but I can't do it if I'm dead."

"You being dead  _ is _ helpful!"

"Not to me, it isn't," Frisk said, dead-pan. 

Undyne  _ screamed, _ fairly impressively for how badly she had to be feeling.

_ I'm making it worse, _ Frisk suddenly realized.  _ I don't have anything to say here. I don't have anything I  _ can _ say here.  _

_ I'm only making it worse. _

Flowey seemed to sense what was going through their head, because he curled himself further around them, hissing at Undyne in a protective manner.

"You shut up! Can't you see that the human is doing you a favor? You psychopathic assholes wouldn't last a day out of the Underground, not the way you are now. No, don't try to deny it. You may think you're  _ strong, _ with all of this fighting and bickering amongst yourselves," Flowey sneered, almost making Frisk cringe away with the sheer vitriol in his tone. "You may think you're tough, because you know that you can kill anybody else on the block. But that really just makes you weak. It means you have no allies to rely on, no friends who would be willing to help you in your moment of need."

"I don't  _ have _ moments of need!" Undyne said, and Frisk heard it when she spat bitterly on the ground in front of her. "I'm beyond that. I don't need to rely on others to come save me, because I am the fucking CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, and I am going to fucking KILL YOU!"

Frisk stumbled back, hearing the strange sizzle they had come to associate with Undyne pulling on her magic once again, but they did nothing except increase the tightness with which they were holding Flowey, not allowing him to interfere.

"C'mon - " Flowey hissed in their ear, a bitten-off sound that was likely an attempt to keep himself from using Frisk's name out-loud.

"No," Frisk said firmly. There wasn't much they could do here, but they could do this.

Undyne wheezed, her magic disappearing in an instant. She still didn't have the strength for something like that, and Frisk knew it. 

"No moments of need, huh?" Flowey said callously. Frisk just knew that he was giving her a horrible smirk, but since he made no move to remove himself from Frisk's care, they didn't admonish him. "Wonder how that's turning out for you right now? You may be the great and illustrious Captain of our majesty's Royal Guard, but you're not worth shit when you're out here, dying on some fucking bridge. If you fall into the lava, they won't even be able to recover your dust,  _ Captain. _ Wanna try it?"

Undyne hissed in outrage, but both children knew that she couldn't do anything to hurt them right now. Flowey was right - she could die here, without anyone knowing. Undyne was completely at their mercy.

For a split second, Frisk almost wanted to do it. They thought of the terror Undyne had instilled on them, about how much she believed her words, and believed that the humans above were responsible for her pain, when in fact they were just ignorant.

(Ignorant. The worst excuse, but an excuse nonetheless.)

But...

Frisk knew that they couldn't pick and choose.  _ Existence is not something you have to earn. _ That was what they believed, and they would stick to that.

"Go home, Captain," they said wearily, bringing the increasingly belligerent monsters to a halt. "I'm sorry that I can't understand what this means to you. But I have people who care about me too."

Bleu. The teachers who were kind to them, the kids who wanted to play with them in the schoolyard, the random people on the street who would say hello and good morning,  _ everyone! _

(Flowey. Maybe even Toriel.)

"I can't afford to die here, and neither can you," they said.  _ "Go home." _

There was a tense silence, for a moment, but then Frisk heard the slow, steady sound of Undyne moving away, her armor weighing her down, but thankfully not enough to stop her.

Flowey let out a huge sigh of relief, Frisk following suit. It seemed like this whole disaster was finally over...

And then, Flowey turned on them.

"You IDIOT!" he screeched, making Frisk wince away from the voice yelling right in their ear. "What were you thinking? What the hell were you hoping to accomplish with that?!"

"I don't  _ know!" _ Frisk yelled back, frustration bubbling up inside them. They hadn't signed up for this. They hadn't even meant to climb the mountain in the first place!

Frisk hadn't signed up to be the monsters' savior, or martyr, or their god-damned  _ therapist. _ They were doing the best they could, because that was the type of person that they were. 

"It just felt like the right thing to do," they said, feeling their shoulders hunch under the weight of their choices. "I know that I didn't exactly get it right this time, but I will next time. I promise. I can do better.  _ Someone _ has to."

"Bullshit," Flowey called immediately, and when Frisk flinched, their hands tugging on his leaves like they wanted him to get off, he softened. He let out a sigh, his petals brushing gently against their cheek. Then, he murmured; "You're doing because you felt like you  _ have _ to. Because somewhere along the way, someone has said to you that your life is worth no more than what you can do for others. And Frisk, that's  _ not right. _ You're a little kid, Frisk. It's not your job to fix our centuries old problems. It's  _ ours. _ And I'm so sorry that you got pulled into this. You deserve better."

Frisk let out a wet-sounding laugh, scrubbing at their eyes. "You may be sorry that I'm here, but I'm not. Sure, there are plenty of times where I regret falling, but I'll  _ never _ regret meeting you, Flowey. Thank you."

Flowey grumbled under his breath, but there was no anger in his tone.

"Whatever. Let's just get the hell out of this heat already, I'm about to go up in flames."

Frisk laughed again, but followed his instructions.

No one... No one had  _ ever _ said something like that to them before. No one had ever said that they didn't deserve it. No one ever said that it wasn't Frisk's fault that they couldn't solve other people's problems. The blame had always fallen on them, even when (curiously enough) the praise never did.

If they received merits for schoolwork, athletics, or a million other things, it was 'despite' their blindness, 'despite' their behavioral issues, 'despite' their many problems.

Frisk had never received anything in their life without struggling for it first, and they had never gotten any credit for it either.

This... This was all quite new to them. Maybe it was new to Flowey too.

"Okay," they said. "The lab? I know you don't like the scientist much, but..."

"It's the only real building around here," Flowey filled in with a grumpy tone. "Believe me, I know. Let's just get this over with. At the very least, that sicko better be happy that I didn't kill off her damn fish wife."

"Her  _ what?" _ Frisk laughed, not even caring about the sweat dripping down their face anymore. They were nearly giddy with the bliss that was running through them right now, the sudden turnaround off their mood all due to their flowery companion.

"Fish wife! I said that Alphys was in love with her, didn't I?"

"Oh, I know, but that's just such a funny phrase to hear you say!"

"I'll show you  _ funny, _ you little brat - "

"Ugh! Not the hair!"

...

Frisk crept quietly in the lab, still trying to contain their giggles. Even though they were sneaking into a top-secret lab where (assumedly) an evil scientist that wanted to kill them resided, it had been a long time since they felt so light and fluffy.

It had been a long time since they'd felt such unmitigated joy. A long time since they'd had a friend like Flowey, if they had ever had one like him in the first place. Frisk didn't know what they would do if he wasn't around to tease them and look over them in equal measure.

Some part of Frisk knew that this couldn't last forever, that Flowey probably couldn't pass the barrier with them. But that part was getting drowned out by the sheer happiness he made them feel, and they were okay with that.

"Okay, we just have to stick to the walls," Flowey whispered. "I know she's got sensors around here, but they're not  _ that _ sensitive, since she's had a lot of false alarms because of the Amalgamates. Oh, that reminds me - don't go near the bathroom door. It's a little bit ahead, I'll warn you."

"Amalgamates?" Frisk whispered in reply, their brow furrowing. "What are those? And why can't I go near the bathroom?"

"They're her experiments, a bunch of monsters twisted and melted together into something that even  _ they _ can't recognize," Flowey answered grimly. "And the bathroom door actually leads to an elevator, the only way to get down to the True Lab, where she keeps them. She can't exactly contain them, since they're pretty much invincible and don't listen to any of her orders, but they also don't like the outside world. I think it's all too much for them. So, they stay down in the True Lab and do whatever they want, and Alphys gets to lie about developing unkillable soldiers for Asgore. Win-Win."

He seemed...  _ bitter, _ somehow.

"Doesn't sound like much of a victory to me," Frisk said. "It seems more like a stop-gate. A temporary measure to stop things from getting even worse. A bandaid on a bullet wound, if you will."

"Yeah, it's something like that," Flowey snorted. "Just be careful. The Amalgamates don't come up to the top floor often, but when they do - "

"How do you know about the Amalgamates?" a voice barked, and Flowey hissed in displeasure when all the lights suddenly came on.

Frisk, of course, was unaffected, and merely turned to the new presence in the lab, hoping to get this encounter off to a good start for once.

"Are you Doctor Alphys? The Royal Scientist?"

"I... I am," she answered, sniffing in a way that tried to make her sound imperious, but instead just made her seem incredibly nervous. "And you're that human, huh? I have video of you doing my puzzle in Snowdin. L-Lucky break on that one. I-It doesn't always do that, y'know! Usually, it's practically impossible to deal with!"

"I believe you," Frisk said earnestly, trying their best to suppress their smile at the reminder of the incident. That had probably been one of the easiest things for them to deal with overall! "I mean, you're the Royal Scientist for a reason. The mere fact that the puzzle ended the way it did means that it really did have infinite possibilities!

"O-Oh, well," Alphys stuttered, seeming embarrassed and just the tiniest bit flattered. "Puzzles a-aren't really my thing, but I -  _ hey, _ wait! I'm supposed to be asking you about the Amalgamates!"

"Were you?" Frisk asked, starting to sweat a bit. As soon as Flowey had heard the Doctor's voice, he had ducked his head behind Frisk, and was hiding the majority of his vines and leaves inside Frisk's sweater as best he could.

Frisk wasn't sure why he bothered, beside the obvious. If Alphys had been watching them as far back as the puzzles in Snowdin forest, then she definitely knew that Flowey was with Frisk.

"I was," she said, sounding about as firm as she ever got. "I-I heard you talking. Saying they were...  _ soldiers. _ No one is supposed to know that! No one except me and the King!"

"Well, old King Fluffybuns never was the best at keeping secrets, was he?" Flowey said in his creepy sing-song voice, popping over Frisk's head to sneer at her.

_ "Y-You!" _ Alphys said, sounding like an awful mix of horrified and enraged. "How did you get in here?! O-Oh, it doesn't matter. Mettaton!  _ Mettaton, _ get in here!"

"Oh, here we go," Flowey groaned, obviously preparing himself for something awful.

Frisk was just extremely confused. Mettaton? Wasn't that the guy on TV? Or was it the name of the channel?

Maybe it was both. Frisk was really out of their depth here.

It didn't seem to matter, though, because nothing happened.

"Mettaton!" Alphys screeched, sounding like she was two second away from stomping her feet and throwing a tantrum like a toddler. "You have to come when I call you!"

"Oh, so I have to come when  _ you _ call, but you can't be bothered to show up to even  _ one _ of my rehearsals?" a sulky voice said, making Frisk whip their head around in confusion.

It sounded like it was coming from right next to them, but... Frisk definitely hadn't heard anybody enter. And they were right next to the wall! In fact, it kind of sounded like it was coming from inside... the... wall...

Frisk pressed their ear to the wall, ignoring Flowey's startled squawk.

"Are you...  _ okay _ in there?" they said, feeling a little alarmed. "Like, you aren't suffocating or anything, are you?"

There was a moment of silence, and then a loud  _ bang! _  as someone broke down the wall and came into the room, their heavy and metallic footsteps making them sound like they were wearing some kind of armor, like Undyne.

"Watch it, you bucket of bolts!" Flowey screamed, having barely pulled Frisk back in time. "You almost squashed us!"

"Well, it's your fault for being so close to the wall," he answered, still sounding exactly as sulky as before.

Flowey bristled, apparently gearing up for another screaming match, but Alphys cut him off.

"Mettaton, I told you that you had to - "

"You tell me a lot of things, Alphys, how could I possibly keep track?" Mettaton said sourly, but having a flair of sass to it that Frisk actually hadn't expected. "And, what now, let me  _ guess. _ You want me to eliminate the human and the flower, to clean up your mess for you once again."

"Yes!" Alphys said exasperatedly. "That's your job, Mettaton!"

"Well it's  _ not _ the job I signed up for, and I won't do it!" Mettaton exploded, slamming his hand down the desk next to him.

The two of them began bickering, loudly and with increasingly hurtful insults, leaving Frisk and Flowey off to the side awkwardly.

"Should... we just leave?" Frisk said quietly, not wanting to draw the attention of the screaming duo. "I feel like we should just leave."

"I'm with you there," Flowey snorted. 

Frisk almost went through with it, almost tiptoed around them and made a break for it, but their conscience stopped them before they could. With a groan, Frisk turned around and resolved themself to playing therapist once again.

"What was the job?" they asked patiently, not allowing the two's sudden attention to get to them. "Mettaton, sir, you said that this wasn't the job you signed up for. What did you expect?"

"Well,  _ darling," _ he said, a certain amount of venom in the endearment, though Frisk got the distinct impression that it wasn't aimed at them. "I was told that I would be  _ entertainment. _ That I would keep the monsters happy while the King tries to plan a fruitless war that will never happen!"

"Mettaton!" Alphys gasped, astonished.

"It's true!" he insisted. "War against the humans is a stupid idea, and I wouldn’t approve of it regardless of if it wasn't!"

Frisk didn't address that part of it for now, instead moving on to Alphys.

"Is this true?" they said, gaining her attention. "Is that what you told Mettaton, or at least the impression that you gave?"

"I... I told him that he would help the Underground, be exactly what they needed," she said, and there was a small clinking sound that made Frisk think that she was fiddling with some kind of glass. "I... never said that it would be  _ only _ entertainment."

"It was implied!" Mettaton said, sounding truly angry for the first time. He had really only seemed exasperated before, but now he sounded pissed. "That was my  _ dream, _ that was what this whole thing was supposed to help me accomplish! You  _ knew _ that, it's one of the big reasons that we became friends! But now... With all your secrets and lies, it's like I don't even  _ know _ you anymore!"

Jeez, it was seeming like Frisk had wandered into the set of a daytime drama more and more every second.

"Well!" Alphys yelled, getting all fired up herself. "Maybe you would know me better if you actually stuck around sometimes! Thought it might even be for the best that you don't - after all, who the hell would want to be friends with an egotistical asshole like you?!"

There was a dead silence, and Frisk could feel sweat running down their forehead that had nothing to do with the temperature.

Wow.  _ Harsh. _

Flowey echoed the sentiment, giggling meanly. "Why Doctor, I didn't know you had it in you! To push away one of your only remaining allies... Do you really hate yourself that much?"

Frisk stiffened. That certainly wasn't going to help matters. 

Alphys sniffled, making a harsh noise as if she wanted to say something, but before she could, someone else intervened.

"Shut up, you damn weed," Mettaton snarled. "Don't think I've forgotten all the havoc you caused on the set of my movie!"

What? Aw hell, figures Flowey had pissed off every important person in the Underground.

"That doesn't matter right now," Frisk interrupted, jumping in before this could go any further off-topic. "Mettaton, Alphys... Is this really what you wanted things to be like?"

There was a tense silence neither of them wanting to be the first to speak, before Mettaton scoffed.

"Of course not," he sneered. Frisk got the distinct impression that he had his hands on his hips. "But do I have any other choice? She complains about me never being around, but when I am, all she does is make me clean up after her damn experiments! I've had enough of Endogeny slobbering over my beautiful face for a lifetime."

Frisk tensed, expecting Alphys to retort with something even more hurtful, only to be left surprised.

"You... think it's beautiful?" the scientist said, almost bashfully. "You always said that you had expected it to be different..."

Mettaton kept stubbornly silent, but it seemed it wasn't in his nature to remain so for long, because he let out an explosive sigh.

"Of course it's beautiful," he murmured. "This was the body we designed together, the one that was going to embody your dreams and mine. It may not be what I expected... but I will always find it beautiful."

"Alphys," Frisk said, trying to see if they could get this to work. "Why do you only call Mettaton if you need help? Don't you ever call him just to hang out?"

Alphys swallowed thickly.

"No," she admitted in a small voice. "I figured that... now that he's a big TV star, he wouldn't want to hang out with me. I knew that he would feel obligated to help me because of our deal, though, so I thought..."

"Oh, Alphys," Mettaton sighed, though there was something infinitely fond in the sound that hadn't been there before. "You're my best friend, and perhaps my only true one. Did you really think that I didn't want to spend time with you?"

Alphys said nothing, but Frisk got the feeling that her expression was more than enough of a clue, because Frisk heard Mettaton go over to her, and then a crinkle of clothing. He was pulling her into an embrace.

"I want to spend time with you," he said softly. "Inside and outside of the lab. I want to spend time with my best friend, Alphys, and not  _ just _ Alphys, the Royal Scientist. That's all I ask, darling."

Alphys sniffled audibly, sounding like she was choking back tears. "Mettaton, I-I... I wanna spend time with you too! You're my friend, not just my creation. I promise, I'll never forget that again!"

Frisk and Flowey stood off to the side, wondering if it was over.

"Uh... can we go now?" Flowey said, sounding like a strange mix between amused and irritated.

"Oh, of course darling!" Mettaton said cheerfully. "And as a reward, I won't kill you. Ta-ta!"

Okay, that was their cue.

...

And so, on they went with the superstar's blessing. Mettaton seemed much happier after Alphys' confession, and Frisk got the feeling that their friendship wasn't beyond repair after all.

Flowey directed them through Hotland without any further issues, not even having to scare off too many other monsters. Hotland was a busy area, as Frisk discovered, full of schools and businesses. The monsters were more worried about getting to work on time than they were about capturing a human, which was a huge relief to them.

Frisk had even been given the time to chat briefly with a pair of monster girls heading to high school, who had offered Frisk some wonderful advice; things like "if he dumps you, dump him in the lava pit", and "skateboards are cool no matter who says otherwise", and most notably "school sucks, we should all just stop going".

One of them had told Frisk to stop by her father's restaurant sometime in Snowdin, and had said that they would love to, though they weren't sure about the timeframe. Both girls had been more than happy to direct Frisk to someplace to eat, too, especially since the more time they spent doing that, the less time they had to be in school.

The place they recommended, however, was  _ way _ too expensive for Frisk to even dream of. They'd asked about the prices, and nearly had a heart attack.

9999 gold for a single donut? What the hell?!

"I think I have enough money - " Flowey began, only for Frisk to shake their head frantically, walking a little ways away from the table. They thought they could still feel the eyes of the table's proprietor on their back.

"No way, no way!" they said, digging through their pockets. "I'm sure that I still have one of the Spider Donuts from earlier. I'll just eat that instead."

They didn't even care if it was old and gross by now - there was  _ no way _ they were gonna spend practically ten-thousand gold pieces on a single pastry.

They pulled the donut out, and brought it up to their mouth to take a bite, only for it to get snatched out of their hand.

"Hey - !"

"Where did you get this?" an angry voice hissed. It sounded like the monster woman that had been manning the stand. Wait... were the Spider Donuts the same type of Donuts that she was selling? Oh, no. "Did you steal it?!"

"We bought it in the Ruins!" Frisk explained frantically. Somehow, this almost felt worse than being chased around by Undyne - it was one thing to be attacked by a mythical-seeming monster that wanted to kill you for existing, and quite another to be accused of theft.

Frisk knew that there was something screwed up in that line of thinking, but they couldn't quite place it.

"I think you're a liar, and a thief!" she said, and another hand grabbed Frisk's arm in an iron grip. "Would you like to see what happens if you steal from Muffet's Bakery, child? Ahuhuhu... Let me give you a hint."

Muffet pulled Frisk closer to her, and they could suddenly feel her hot breath on their face.

_ "You become the next ingredient." _

"Hey, watch it!" Flowey said, rising over Frisk's shoulder to snarl at her.

Muffet leaned back, but didn't seem perturbed. "What's this ~ ? A two for one deal? Delightful! I've been thinking about adding salad to the menu! I - ! Oh? What is it, dearie?"

Frisk heard a tiny chittering noise, and it reminded them of the little spider monsters in the Ruins.

"A telegram? From our spider cousins? Hm, let me see..." She didn't let up her grip on Frisk's arm, but after she had presumably read through the letter, she gasped and dropped them immediately.

"Oh, dearie, forgive me! This says that you bought a ton of different treats from them! This has all been a big misunderstanding," Muffet said, perfectly polite and even kind now that she knew the two children weren't trying to threaten her livelihood. "Here, you can have this back."

"...Thanks," Frisk said slowly, taking the half-destroyed donut back from her. "Thank you. It's okay, no worries. I should, um, be going now, though."

"Of course, dearie," Muffet said, and Frisk thought they could sense a bit of mischief from her. "Come back any time! We're always open for you, ahuhuhu ~ !"

"Okay, thank you!" Frisk called out once again, intending to do no such thing. They hustled away, Flowey whispering directions in their ear.

They could still feel her staring at them. Somehow, it felt even more predatory than before.

...

Before long, they had traversed the rest of Hotland, getting through Mettaton's resort with ease. After that was the CORE, and though it was apparently supposed to be some kind of huge maze, Flowey had the whole thing memorized.

Geez, without him, Frisk would have really been in trouble.

They ended up walking down a long corridor, where there was a strange buzzing in the air. It seemed almost like the sound of machinery, but at the same time, there was something almost...  _ heavier, _ to it.

Frisk was right near the elevator, having pressed the button to go up and into the castle, when Flowey said that he had to leave.

_ Leave? _ Their heart nearly stopped.

"Just... Just keep going, okay? I have some last-minute things to take care of," he said, sliding down off of Frisk despite their protests. "This area is empty, okay? No one will try to hurt you here. And I'll be there when you confront Asgore, I promise."

"Flowey - " Frisk began, wringing their hands anxiously. They weren't ready for him to leave - they weren't ready to let go yet.

"Do you trust me?" Flowey said seriously, his voice coming from somewhere behind them.

"...Yes, of course." Even if something inside of them was screaming for them not to, not with this. They weren’t sure what that part of them was, but they thought it might have something to do with the red, cartoonish heart floating somewhere in their chest.

"Then  _ trust me. _ I'll be there when you need me, I promise. I won't abandon you again."

"Okay," Frisk said. What else could they say? In that moment, his tone was full of conviction, more than they had ever heard from him before. Pure determination.

But somehow, and Frisk didn't want to believe it even with a horrible sinking feeling in their chest, they didn't think he was really talking to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> frisk: this is going so well, and i have total confidence that it will continue to do so  
> flowey: *leaves*  
> frisk: well guess i'll die
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	11. is the sky in the east

*Do you come here a lot?* Chara signed, catching Asriel's attention from where he was poking curiously at a puddle. *You seem to know the area pretty well.*

"Oh, yeah!" he said, smiling at them so brightly Chara nearly felt the urge to hiss and back away. "This place is just far enough away that my mom can't come after me, but since there are so many guards around she doesn't get worried, y'know?"

Chara raised an eyebrow at him. No, obviously they did not know, and he seemed to catch this because he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, I just mean... My parents are,  _ um..." _ Asriel seemed to be struggling heavily with what to say, and Chara was almost feeling like they could let him off the hook when he suddenly shook his head, looking determined. "Honestly, it doesn't matter who my parents are! We're friends, and my parents have nothing to do with that. Um, right?"

Asriel glanced at them, biting his bottom lip with his tiny, adorable fangs, and Chara resisted the urge to coo.

Instead, they let out a rough, rasping laugh. Reaching over, Chara patted him on the head, ignoring his whine of disapproval.

*Of course we're friends,* Chara signed once they'd taken their hand back, smirking at him. *You've already touched me several times, and I haven't stabbed you yet. That's about as friendly as it gets.*

Asriel blinked, apparently taken a little off-guard by that, but then he laughed in return, totally carefree in their presence despite the fact that they had basically just threatened to stab him.

"Well, I'll take what I can get!" he said teasingly, nudging them in the side. 

Chara shoved him away, but they were smiling.

Asriel continued walking them through Waterfall, showing them all of the cool little spots he had found over the years. He also showed them how to avoid the traps and puzzles laid around.

"Captain Alphys put them here," he explained, carefully disabling a nasty paralyzer trap so that they could continue into the marsh. "Usually, they're deactivated. They only turn on if there's, well, a human in the area."

Chara stiffened, watching their companion carefully. They'd suspected, of course, that Asriel knew what they were. Since he knew the gist of ASL, he had to have at least read some kind of human literature, know  _ something _ about them.

And while most monsters had no idea that Chara was human, many did. Both of the skeleton brothers had known immediately, after all.

At the thought, Chara scowled, though they quickly smoothed their expression back out when they saw Asriel looking at them with... sympathy?

They jerked their head away, looking at the weird plants instead of him. They didn't want him to  _ sympathize _ with them. Chara didn't even know what he could possibly be sympathizing with them for! Chara was a  _ demon, _ a bad child. Sure, they were still pissed as hell at Sans for killing them, but that didn't mean they thought he wasn't justified. 

When children do bad things, they get punished. This was Chara's punishment.

"...Chara?" Asriel ventured carefully, making Chara suppress another sour look.

*What?* they signed roughly. They didn't want to get into this with him. They didn't want to discuss humanity, and hatred, and all the other things that came to mind when they thought of the surface world.

They just wanted to be  _ Chara. _ Was that too much to ask?

"I just wanted to say..." Asriel began slowly, before building up as his conviction became almost palpable. "You're a good person! And we're friends. If it doesn't matter who my parents are, then it doesn't matter who yours are, either!"

Chara whipped their head around, blinking rapidly as they stared at him in shock. Really? Could anything  _ really _ be that simple?

"When we're together, we don't have to be anyone, or anything else!" Asriel said fiercely, reaching out and grabbing them by the shoulders. It really was a testament to how much Chara liked him that they didn't stab him immediately upon contact. "We're just Asriel and Chara. We're just two kids, messing around in the Underground. Okay?"

Shakily, Chara brought up their hands. *Okay.*

"Great!" Asriel beamed, and instead of taking his furry paws away, he hesitated. "Is it okay if I, um - "

Chara spared him the stuttering and nerves, simply reaching out to pull him into an embrace.

It was like hugging an adorable, bleating cloud.

Asriel hugged them back with fierce abandon, squeezing them tightly. It was a contrast to Asgore, who had held them like they could simply fall apart at any moment. Asriel held onto them like he was the only thing keeping them together.

Chara... couldn't find it in themself to mind.

After another long moment of contentment, Chara pulled back, signaling for Asriel to do the same. When he did so, he was still smiling in that strange and wonderfully ecstatic way, and his eyes were wet with tears.

*Crybaby,* Chara signed teasingly, watching as Asriel hastily wiped at his face in denial.

"I-I am not!" he denied, covering his face in embarrassment as the fur on his cheeks tinted a strange, beautiful color.

All teasing instantly forgotten, Chara reached out, gently stroking that fur with an expression of wonder.

Asriel seemed uncomprehending for a moment, but then his eyes lit up.

"Oh!" he gasped. "My magic! It's the color of my magic that you're seeing."

*Really?* Chara signed, unable to take their eyes off it. To their delight, the colors only got darker as Asriel laughed nervously. *It's beautiful.*

Asriel covered his face with his hands again, groaning. "C'mon, you're killing me..."

Chara simply stuck their tongue out at him, but they were sincerely curious. *What do the colors mean?*

"Well, um," Asriel swallowed, taking a second to bring down his embarrassment. "They're my soul traits! See, with humans, your soul is the color of your traits. Particularly strong humans have their souls dominated by a single color, giving them higher magic potential. But monster souls are entirely white, because not one of our souls is as strong as even the weakest human."

Chara frowned. Yes, Asgore had mentioned something like that, hadn't he?

"We still have traits though!" Asriel continued cheerfully. "You just can't see it on our souls except for extreme circumstances. That's why my cheeks were all colored, though. It's the color of my soul traits."

*What are they?* Chara asked immediately, before doing something they had never done before, and began to retract their question. *I mean, you don't have to tell me if it's super personal or anything - *

"No, no, it's fine!" Asriel laughed, waving his hands in dismissal even though he did seem rather embarrassed. "It's not  _ that _ personal. Anyone around here would know just by looking at me, after all."

Chara nodded, conceding to the point. This was obviously something that was common knowledge to the monsters. It made sense that it wouldn't be as taboo as Chara was concerned it was. After all, having a front row seat to what made up a person's soul would be a  _ huge _ taboo to humans.

"My traits are Bravery and Kindness," Asriel explained calmly. He didn't seem on edge or embarrassed now. No, now he looked entirely in control, and...  _ proud _ of himself.

Chara couldn't even begin to imagine what that might be like.

But still, those traits suited him without a doubt. Bravery and Kindness? Chara would believe that in a heartbeat. To someone who had been able to help them so much, by doing so little, Chara absolutely believed it.

*Okay, cool,* Chara said instead of anything significant, because they were an emotionally constipated baby.

However, Asriel didn't seem to think so, because he beamed like they had given him the best compliment in the world.

"I'm sure your soul is nice too, Chara!" he chirped, and his eyes almost involuntarily dipped down to their chest for a moment.

Chara felt the irrational urge to curl up, like they wanted to turn away so that he couldn't see into them like that. It was nice that he thought so. Chara was pretty sure that their soul was horrid and rotting from the inside out, just like them, but...

It was nice that he thought so.

Chara opted not to sign anything back, simply nodding their head. They weren't sure that they wouldn't just say something utterly disparaging and ultimately depressing, so they decided to just keep it to themself instead. 

"C'mon," Asriel slung his arm over their shoulder again, giving them an easy smile. Not for the first time, Chara quietly appreciated how understanding he was. He seemed like the type to want to hold hands, but he understood that by doing so,  he would be greatly reducing Chara's ability to communicate. 

It was the little things.

"Wanna go hang out at the weird dock by the marsh and throw rocks in the water?"

*Hell yeah.*

...

The two kids had a grand old time, chucking pebbles into the murky water and seeing how many lily pads they could hit. Asriel showed Chara how to scrub the muck off the rocks to reveal their shiny and glowing insides, and in return, Chara showed him which rocks were the best kind to use to skip across the water.

They were just acting like kids, with no responsibilities and no kingdoms to save. It was wonderful.

Eventually, though, they did get moving, heading further into Waterfall and chatting idly. Asriel gladly translated Chara's signs for any monsters they came across, which greatly reduced the amount of battles they had to run away from.

At this point, Chara was seriously considering kidnapping Asriel and holding him hostage for their own nefarious purposes, because this was the easiest things had been for them in the entire Underground.

However, they did hit a snag.

That  _ snag _ was short, and wearing a blue bandanna.

When Chara heard the sound of Sans' obnoxiously loud voice around the corner, they immediately grabbed Asriel and dragged him behind some bushes, trying their best to stay out of sight. Asriel tried to say something, utterly confused as to what was happening, but Chara clamped their hand over his mouth before he could, not willing to let him get the two of them caught.

And not a second too soon, because it was right after Chara wrestled Asriel under control that Sans walked into the path, a heavily armored lizard monster beside him. She had her helmet off, revealing a yellow scaled face with one thick scar going from her forehead, under and eyepatch, and down to her chin.

"I'm telling you, I know a human when I see it!" she was arguing, hands clenching as she apparently fought not to crush her metal helmet with her bare hands. "Undyne's human history has shown me all the stuff they can do! I know you said it's just a visitor from the Ruins, but don't you find that suspicious in and of itself? No one's left the Ruins in ages! The door is locked from the inside!"

"WHICH MEANS THAT IT MAKES SENSE FOR SOMEONE TO COME FROM  _ INSIDE _ THE RUINS," Sans pointed out, almost sensibly. 

Chara would have been impressed, if they weren't already seething with anger just from being in the skeleton's presence.

"ARGH!" the lizard woman yelled, throwing her helmet on the ground. "THAT DOESN'T MATTER! What MATTERS is that there's a human on the loose! Who knows how many innocent monsters it's wrapped up in its schemes?!"

Sans winced, though he still did his best to smile nervously. "I-I AM SURE THAT IT'S NOT REALLY ALL THAT BAD, CAPTAIN. EVERYONE DESERVES A CHANCE TO SHOW THAT THEY CAN BE GOOD, RIGHT?"

The woman - Alphys, Chara figured, since Sans had called her Captain - scoffed, but grudgingly backed down, allowing Sans to lead her away.

"I'm still gonna keep an eye out, though!" she shouted, as Sans tried his best to usher her along.

"OF THAT, I HAVE NO DOUBT," he replied dryly, almost surprising Chara into giving a snort as the loud duo turned the corner. 

The two children waited for one more tense moment, but then scrambled out from the bushes, giving simultaneous sighs of relief.

"Good call," Asriel murmured, looking exhausted by the encounter. "It would have been really bad if Alphys caught us here."

*No kidding,* Chara scoffed, their movements still sharp with their residual anger. *I don't know exactly what she's capable of, but I'm not particularly interested in finding out, either.*

The two of them shared a laugh, even though Chara's was more of a raspy death knell. It was only at that moment that Chara realized that someone else's laugh had joined them, however.

Slowly, Chara turned around, catching Asriel's attention and making him pale dramatically when he saw who was behind them. 

Alphys bared her teeth in a wholly intimidating smile, having somehow managed to sneak up on the two of them in her loud-ass armor. 

"Well, well,  _ well," _ she said tauntingly, keeping her eyes mainly on Chara, but flickering over to glance at Asriel every once in a while. "I came back here to get my helmet, but it seems like I've stumbled onto something even better!"

Alphys raised her gauntleted hands, giving a wild grin as sparks of electricity flashed in the air around her.

"Any last words, human?!"

Chara was almost tempted to sign back something snarky and very likely to get them killed, but thankfully Asriel intervened before their brain could get that far in getting the connection to their hands.

"Captain, please don't!" he cried out, moving forward with his hands outstretched. 

When Alphys hesitated, for just a split-second, he didn't waste any time and used that as an opportunity. He shoved Chara behind him, stepping fully in front of them and staring at Alphys with his chin tilted up.

Some part of Chara chafed at the treatment, but they easily reconciled that part with the rest of themself, knowing that there was no way that they would be able to run for it now without getting fried, and that Alphys was much more likely to listen to a fellow monster than a snarky brat that she was doing her best to kill.

"Kid," Alphys began with gritted teeth, narrowing her eyes at Asriel. "You may be the Prince, but that doesn't mean you get to boss me around. I have to do what I think is best for the kingdom, and right now, it's getting the soul of that creepy human behind you."

Chara involuntarily flinched at the moniker, even as their mind was racing. Prince? Prince?!

Asriel was the  _ Prince? _ In hindsight, it seemed glaringly obvious. He looked just like Asgore, after all - Chara had even absentmindedly noted that to themself at several occasions! Why had it never occurred to them to look into that any deeper?

Asriel risked a glance back at them, wincing at whatever he saw in their gaze, but he didn't let it stop him. He squared his shoulders and turned back to Alphys with a look that Chara could now recognize as regal.

"You are correct," he said, suddenly formal in a way Chara had yet to witness from him. "I am the Crown Prince. As such, no matter what you believe otherwise, my orders supersede yours."

Alphys snarled, but didn't argue the point. Instead she went for a different, much lower blow. "What about the Queen, then? Do you think that she'll support you in this?"

Asriel didn't back down - in fact, that attempt only seemed to bolster his courage.

"My mother and I hold differing opinions on what should be done with the humans, and we are both aware of this," Asriel said evenly. "Regardless of what you might believe about humans in general, this human is not like that. They're a kid, like me!"

At the end of his sentence, some of his frustration bled through, revealing his true age. Alphys caught onto this, because she latched onto him - like she was a shark smelling blood in the water.

"It's the  _ enemy," _ she snarled. But then, she softened.

Chara didn't like that. They knew what that look meant, what it represented. Alphys was going to try to look like she was appealing to him, coming to a  _ compromise, _ when really she was just planning to hit him in his weakest spots and hope to trick him into conceding.

It was a trick that Chara knew well - it was a trick that  _ they _ had employed often enough in the past. 

"Look," Alphys sighed, letting her hands come down and her threatening magic dissipate. She kneeled down, looking Asriel in the eye. "I understand. You miss your siblings."

Chara didn't miss the way Asriel completely froze, his face becoming a entirely blank mask. Chara almost wanted to smile.

This should be good.

"What happened..." Alphys continued, not realizing that this encounter was definitely  _ not _ going to go the way she expected. "What happened was messed up, nobody's denying that. I can't say that I understand your pain. But you can't bring them back. You can't save your siblings by sacrificing the needs of all monsterkind... Do you understand?"

She spoke so softly, with such an understanding tone. As if she didn't think that they could see the glint of victory in her eyes, as if they couldn't see the falsehood wrapped around her words like the world's shittiest wrapping paper.

Chara didn't doubt that she believed it, or that she really  _ did _ feel sorry for Asriel's loss. But the mere fact that she was only using their deaths as a tool in her argument meant that she had already lost. That wasn't  _ real _ sincerity. That was a painfully obvious attempt at manipulation. 

"It's true that I can't bring them both back," Asriel said, and Chara applauded his steadiness when they would have been screaming threats in her face right about now. "But I'll be damned if I don't do my best to prevent any more deaths in their name."

Alphys physically flinched back, eyes widening in surprise, and Chara silently rooted him on as Asriel went in for the kill.

"Oh, did you forget,  _ Captain?" _ Asriel said, his tone just shy of mocking. "When monsters were first banished to the Underground, they were angry, sure. But they got over it. They were still together, so they would survive for another day, right? They would survive until they got their freedom back. And then."

He took a deep breath, and Chara slipped their hand into his. He glanced back at them, startled, but they only gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. They didn't need to speak for this, and Asriel needed all the support he could get. Asriel squeezed back.

_ "Then, _ a human fell Underground." Chara fought to keep their face neutral as he continued. It wasn't like the two of them had exchanged life stories or anything, but this was  _ big. _ "The human became my sibling, along with my other adopted sibling. The three of us became inseparable."

"Until the humans tore it all away!" Alphys snarled, and Chara wanted to smack her. This wasn't about her pain, this wasn't about  _ her _ suffering! How could she not see it, when someone as messed up as Chara could?!

"Yeah, I suppose it could be described that way," Asriel said evenly, not bothering to even try to match her vitriol. "After all, my sibling was human."

Now,  _ that _ made Alphys shut up in a hurry.

"My sibling was human," Asriel continued, and the raw pain that began to envelop his words was enough to make even a demon shudder. "Human, and  _ vulnerable. _ They got sick. Nothing we could do would help them, nothing was able to even give them relief of the pain. They died in  _ agony, _ and my other sibling and I were helpless to do anything but watch."

Chara bit their lip, unable to even fathom what that would be like. What kind of strength it would take to endure such a thing, and come out on the other end with a smile that still shined.

Bravery and Kindness indeed.

"My sibling had only one wish," Asriel said, and his voice carried now, echoing across the marsh with the countenance of a King. Alphys was helpless to do anything but stay there and listen. "To see the surface again! To look upon the flowers that they once adored, to see the  _ sun! _ We could not grant that wish... but my other sibling, they took it upon themself to absorb our sibling's soul, and become powerful enough to cross the barrier. They carried our sibling's body with them, brought them back to the village that they had once called home!"

"And the humans attacked them for it!" Alphys spit out, looking like she was regaining her stride at the way the story was going. "Attacked an innocent monster!"

"Yes," Asriel said quietly. "But  _ they _ had no way of knowing that."

Alphys' expression darkened. "...What are you saying?"

"The truth!" Asriel yelled, face stormy. "All they saw was an impossibly strong monster, carrying the body of a dead child! One who had disappeared into a mountain that was rumored to be full of horrible, monstrous creatures! What were they  _ supposed _ to think?!"

"They should have known better!" Alphys roared back, standing to her full height and looming over the two children. "They should have known better than to attack someone who didn't attack them first!"

"Like you were about to do to the human?" Asriel fired back.

The clearing went silent.

"I have to do what's best for us," Alphys said quietly. "Just one more soul. One more soul, and  _ we _ can see the sun again."

"When did you know it enough to miss it?" Asriel countered, before he took a deep breath, allowing himself to calm down. "Alphys. My sibling, in the moment they were in that village, had the power of a god. But they didn't use it. They used what little strength they had left to return home, to tell us what had occurred on the other side of the barrier.  _ I was there. _ I was there as my sibling dissolved into dust, and I was left with more mourning than my body could contain. But I  _ understood. _ I understood that despite their power, they did not raise arms against the humans. They did not fight for a centuries old grudge that none of the current humans even remember. And neither do we. Monsterkind,  _ right now, _ fights to avenge my siblings."

Alphys looked like she was going to interrupt, but Chara shot her a poisonous glare, warning her to  _ shut up or else. _

"My siblings," Asriel said, in a more quiet and contemplative tone than Chara had heard throughout this entire story. "Who was a human, and a pacifist. Who was a monster, and a pacifist. In those last moments, when their souls were together, I always wondered... could their souls speak? Did they have a chance to talk with each other, one last time? I don't know. But I  _ do _ know this - those siblings, those lovely, kind, and caring people would  _ never _ have wanted a war to be waged in their name. Especially not if it was against the humans that they spared."

"I..." Alphys struggled to find something to say, her eyes on the ground, and Chara was honestly glad that someone else was having the same issue.

They had never heard something so powerful, so...  _ raw. _ It was glaringly obvious that Asriel was royalty now - only a royal could have possibly put that much strength into their words.

_ No, _ they corrected themself a second later. Only a mourning sibling, someone who had lost nearly his entire world in a single day, could speak like that.

"I can't say that I don't hear you," Alphys said finally. She reached out, grabbing her helmet with both hands and absently turning it around in her grip. "But you have to understand. Whether we're fighting for the right reasons or not, we have to fight for  _ something. _ Otherwise, what's the point?"

Chara actually sympathized here, and it was also the first time in a long time that they wished they had actually had use of their voice.

_ Life is the point, _ they wanted to say.  _ If you want any deeper meaning out of it, you have to go find it yourself. _

But instead, they let Asriel take the lead one last time.

"You can have something to fight for," he said, and his voice was almost gentle. "I would just prefer if it didn't involve killing my friends."

Alphys and Chara let out simultaneous snorts, and then gazed at each other in surprise for a moment. Then, they both stubbornly looked away.

"Alright, whatever," Alphys said gruffly. "It's not like I can go against the authority of the Prince anyway. Besides... everyone deserves a chance to prove they can be good, right?"

Chara, for the first time in Alphys' presence, smiled. They nodded, feeling a newfound respect for the lizard woman starting to spark up inside them.

Alphys studied them for a long moment, as if judging their worth, before she let out a sigh. 

"Stay out of trouble," she warned.

Asriel and Chara both nodded frantically, not wanting her to turn around and change her mind. As soon as she was out of sight, presumably for good, Asriel slumped down on the ground, letting his face sink directly into the mushy ground.

"Oh, god!" he groaned. "That was the scariest thing in my entire life!"

Chara sniggered, plopping down beside him. They reached out, gently rubbing his back. There was a long silence between them, but it was a comfortable one.

"Thanks," Asriel said, barely heard by the way he was currently attempting to become one with the mud. "It's been a long time since I, uh, even  _ discussed _ them, let alone their deaths, so... It just meant a lot. That you're here, and that we're friends."

Chara just continued to rub his back, hoping that was enough to convey their feelings on the matter. They weren't so good at talking about that kind of stuff anyway. 

But then Asriel shot up, a look of absolute panic on his face. "W-Wait! I don't want you to think that I'm trying to, to  _ replace _ them or anything! Or use you as some kind of  _ placeholder, _ o-or - "

Chara huffed indignantly, shoving him back into the dirt.

*Do you really think I'm that stupid?* they signed once Asriel had come back up for air and stopped complaining about their cruel treatment of him. *Did you really think that I wouldn't hightail it the second I caught a whiff of creepiness off you? I can smell that shit from a mile away, trust me.*

They had to, in the world they lived in.  _ Can't trust anybody. _

Involuntarily, one of their hands crept up to cover their throat, the other nervously tapping sequences of old nursery rhymes on the ground.

Proving himself to be just as perceptive even when he was acting like a total dweeb, Asriel's eyes fell to their sweater collar for just a moment, before he politely looked away and pretended he hadn't noticed a thing.

"Good," he said, and even though the tone Chara had taken was a humorous one, he sounded entirely serious. 

Unsure of how to really respond to that, Chara merely shrugged, shoving his head back into the mud puddle, taking great joy in his unhappy squeals as he bemoaned the state of his fur.

...

The area where they had been confronted by Alphys wasn't too far from the border to Hotland, and that was where the two children decided that they had to part ways.

It was... difficult. A (big) part of Chara was still that stupid baby that wanted someone to hold their hand, that had wanted to live with Asgore and become friends with the skeleton brothers, and a bunch of other useless, sentimental things.

Luckily, Chara was able to ruthlessly squash down that part of themself, and gave it a good bruising in the process.

They felt slightly vindicated by the fact that Asriel was also hesitant to leave, but eventually decided that it was for the best, for both of them. Even though Asriel was able to convince most of the locals not to bother them, he did attract attention wherever he went. Not to mention, all that fur and the ridiculous poncho he refused to take off made it so it was pretty fucking difficult to wander around in a place that was covered in lava.

That almost made Chara consider whether or not they should take off their sweater, but quickly decided that they would rather die than take back their fashion choices. If they could nearly get heatstroke on a school trip for the sake of their aesthetic, they could certainly do it here. 

Asriel saw them off with one last lingering hug, and Chara just knew that he was going to be worrying about them all day.

"Don't worry," he said to them quietly as they were stalling their goodbyes. "I will  _ definitely _ be there to speak on your behalf when you meet my mom, I promise."

For a second, Chara wondered why that mattered, until they remembered the whole Prince thing. Yeah, he was probably a good ally to have on their side. And more important than that, he was a good friend.

Chara wasn't ashamed to say that, at least not in the privacy of their own brain. They were damn lucky to have met Asriel when they did, for many,  _ many _ reasons.

It was what made parting all the more difficult. But they still did it, and Chara waved goodbye to him until he was out of sight.

Afterwards, they turned around, sighed, and headed into the oppressive heat of Hotland.

In the distance, they could vaguely see the shape of a tall building, cutting through the steamy air. It must be the lab that Asriel told them about. Apparently, the Royal Scientist worked there.

Chara couldn't imagine why anyone would want to work in this heat, even in a big air-conditioned building, but they supposed that it wasn't really their call anyway. 

As they approached, crossing over a very precarious bridge, they could just make out the words printed above the door on the building.

LABORATORY. Huh, seemed they were right!

Feeling rather pleased with themself for the correct guess, Chara walked right over, only to hesitate when they got to the door. Should they really just waltz into the big, creepy laboratory? That seemed like a recipe for disaster.

Leaning back, they could see another path branching away a little further back. Hm, looked like there was some kind of elevator down there... Should they risk it?

Which was worse - taking a strange elevator to an unknown location, or barging into the known habitat of a crazed scientist that probably wanted to rip out their internal organs and eat them??

Okay,  _ that _ might be a bit much. Chara let out a groan, smacking themself in the forehead. No more horror movies at three o'clock in the morning, it was clearly detrimental to their already shaky mental health.

Gaining control of themself, Chara walked back up to the lab doors, more willing to deal the the devil they (kinda) knew than to get themself into something that they couldn't handle.

But before they could even attempt to open the doors, they flew open on their own, revealing an intimidatingly tall monster standing in the way. She had scaled skin, in a beautiful shade of blue, and hair that was so vibrantly red that it was  _ really _ the thing that caught Chara off-guard. She was also wearing a white lab coat, but it was flared open to reveal her anime t-shirt. It seemed to be an image of a young girl, with cat ears.

Tokyo Mew Mew, maybe? It kinda looked like that.

"HUMAN!" she boomed, hands on their hips as they let out a strange guffaw. "It is I, UNDYNE, the Royal Scientist! You will not be permitted to enter my domain unless you prove yourself worthy!"

Chara blinked. What? Were they gonna have to answer three riddles or something?

"In... In fact," Undyne said, and Chara was alarmed to see that she had started swaying side to side in an almost drunken manner. "I have... the first test... right here!"

Slapping her hand against the wall, she wheezed. Then, she promptly fell face-forward onto the ground.

Chara let out a startled, almost-shriek, jumping forward to catch her before the poor fish lady broke her nose or something.

Sweating and groaning, Chara managed to drag her body back into the coolness of the lab, being extremely thankful when the doors just closed automatically behind them.

The lab was brightly lit, with anime posters interspersed with wrestling posters everywhere, and for some reason there was also a grand piano in the corner. Walking over to the huge, cluttered table, Chara struggled to position Undyne in the chair, having to move several swords out of the way first.

Why would a  _ scientist _ need this many giant swords?!

Chara was beginning to get the impression that this was less of a scientist thing, and more of an  _ Undyne _ thing.

After a moment of fretting, wondering if they should try to find her something to drink somewhere (though all they could see was hundreds and hundreds of tea boxes lined up against the walls), Undyne gasped back to life like a fish given water, pounding on her own chest dramatically.

"I live!" she said, holding her hand up to the sky as if she was proclaiming this to the gods. "You cursed heat, you cursed Hotland, you have not defeated me yet!  _ I live!" _

Chara, awkwardly standing next to her, wondered if this was the first test. Probably not, considering a piece of paper had fallen out of Undyne's pocket when they were dragging her along, and a quick inspection revealed that it did, indeed, have three riddles written on it.

Well, no discounting the classics.

Turning, Undyne caught sight of them standing there and nearly jumped out of her seat, clearly having forgotten about their existence.

"Were you there... the whole time?" she said, voice wavering. Chara nodded. "Ah... And were you the one to, um, bring me back inside?"

Chara nodded again.

Undyne slumped dramatically against the table, apparently trying to suffocate herself with one of the many half-finished reports that were laying there.

"Oh, I'm such a joke!" she cried out, making Chara increasingly uncomfortable. They were just trapped there, trapped by their own sense of morbid curiosity. "I wanted to impress you, to show a strong face, but I can't even do that right! No wonder the Amalgamates are always teasing me!"

Chara tilted their head to the side. The Amalgamates? Must be a different type of monster, one that Chara hadn't met yet. Not a big deal.

It was clearly a big deal to Undyne, however, because she gasped loudly and turned around, grabbing them by the shoulders.

"Forget I said that!" the scientist said frantically. "Amalgamates? What Amalgamates? I've never heard of such a thing in my entire life! They're definitely not living in my basement!"

There was another pause.

"Noooo!" Undyne wailed, ignoring the table entirely and just slumping straight onto the floor. "I was so close! I wanted to be the heroine of the story, but now I'm just an idiot! God, stupid, stupid,  _ stupid!" _

Okay, that was enough. The dramatics and everything were actually pretty amusing, but when Undyne started banging her head on the ground while berating herself, Chara knew that they had to act.

They stuck their hand under her head, preventing her from smashing it against the tiled floor, and gave her a scolding look.

Undyne stared back at them, her eyes wide. "Huh? What are you doing?"

Chara simply gave her another scolding look, pulling her up so that she wasn't sprawled all over the floor. It was fine to moan and wail and get upset, but it wasn't okay to hurt yourself in the process. That didn't help  _ anyone, _ let alone yourself.

"I-I'm sorry," Undyne sniffled, and Chara's eyes widened in panic when it looked like she was about to cry. "Y-You must be so sick of dealing with a loser like me! I r-ruin everything!"

And then she really  _ did _ start crying, latching onto Chara and sobbing into their shirt as they did so, leaving the child to sit stock-still, having absolutely no idea of what to do here. Were they supposed to comfort her? 

How does one...  _ comfort _ somebody?? Should Chara threaten to stab whoever made her upset, is that how it works??

God, Chara had been dealing with far too much emotion today, it was really beginning to take its toll on them.

Before Chara was given the responsibility of caring for an extremely distraught scientist, however, the door on the other side of the lab opened, and another tall monster walked in.

They were vaguely humanoid in shape, appearing almost like one of those fancy celebrities Chara had seen on TV. They were wearing hip clothes, a backwards baseball hat, and a pair of bulky headphones laid around their neck.

Thankfully, they didn't seem inclined to attack or anything, instead seeming a bit bemused at spotting Chara and Undyne sitting on the ground.

"Uh..." they said, stepping forward with a sound that made Chara think that they might have prosthetics of some kind. Their body seemed vaguely metallic, like they were covered in shiny blue chrome. "Everything okay in here?"

"N-N-Napstaton!" Undyne wailed, scrambling away from Chara to go and throw her arms around the other monster. "I-I-I messed up a-again!"

Napstaton sighed, but patted Undyne's head with a fond look. "I'm sure it's not too bad, Undyne. I know you hate to hear it, but you  _ do _ have a tendency to overreact."

"I do not!" Undyne cried, still clinging to the taller monster and weeping into their cool jacket. "I'm j-just garbage! Horrible, terrible garbage! Someone needs to go and throw me into the dump, because I clearly can't handle the responsibility of being a person!"

Napstaton walked back over to where Chara was standing, dragging an unresisting Undyne along with them. They shot Chara a grateful smile, making the child's cheeks heat up, just a little bit.

"Thanks for sticking around and making sure she's okay," they said, reaching out and patting Chara on the head. "She probably tried to challenge you with something, right? Maybe an arm wrestling contest? That's usually her go-to."

Chara smirked just a little, unable to help themself at the funny image that presented, but then shook their head.

"R-Riddles," Undyne supplied, still sniffling to herself. "I had a whole bunch of awesome riddles I was gonna ask, to make them prove themself worthy to travel through my domain! Like in that show Alphys showed me! But t-then I messed it all up!"

She burst into tears anew, making both Chara and Napstaton sigh as they tried to figure out how to make her feel better.

"Did you try to challenge them  _ outside _ the lab?" Napstaton said, with a kind voice even though their question was a pointed one.

Undyne nodded miserably.

"Well, that's the problem," Napstaton said, hands on their hips. "You know that you don't last very long in the heat outside, Undyne. I'm sure the human would have been more than happy to do your riddles if you had challenged them  _ inside _ the lab.  _ Right?" _

Chara nodded hastily when Napstaton gave them the stink-eye, not willing to get on the bad side of someone who looked like they were made entirely out of metal and badassery.

_ "R-Really?" _ Undyne asked, and then turned to Chara with her eyes sparkling. "I know that this is a bit out of order, but would you be willing to try my challenge? It's super fun, I promise!"

Chara resisted a sigh, and nodded again. It's not like they could very well  _ refuse _ at this point, and especially not with Undyne looking at them so expectantly. Saying no to her would only feel like saying no to a little puppy that just wanted to play with you for a while.

Completely impossible.

So when Undyne squealed happily at their acceptance, darting around the lab to try and find where she'd put her paper with the riddles on it, Chara could only watch with mild amusement. They could try and make a run for it, but with Napstaton literally standing right next to them, they didn't think they would get very far.

Speaking of which, Napstaton bent down a little bit to get more on their level, smiling calmly at them.

"Sorry, with all the craziness, I don't think we had a chance to be introduced. I'm Napstaton, a robot with a soul that was developed by Undyne to help with entertainment. Nice to meet you!"

Chara smiled in return, a little shyly, and reached out to shake their hand. For a moment, they wondered whether or not they should try signing, but ended up deciding against it. If they were wrong and Napstaton couldn't sign, then it was just going to make things awkward for everyone.

Instead, they merely gave the robot a firm handshake, and then went back to watching Undyne race around at nearly the speed of light. They hoped that the fact that they hadn't been openly hostile would be enough to show Napstaton that the child didn't mind their presence.

When Undyne came scurrying back over, she handed Chara a little whiteboard and a marker, making them raise their eyebrow in confusion.

"This is for you to write your answer on," she explained, having easily guessed what they were thinking. "I'll say a riddle, give you a minute to think on it, and then you write your answer down on here, okay?"

Chara nodded, feeling a strange sense of gratitude well up inside them. They didn't know whether it was on purpose or not, but they got the impression that Undyne must have noticed their choice of staying nonverbal, and was attempting to honor that. It was sweet, and a kind thing to do that most others wouldn't have bothered with.

Again, Chara had no idea if she had done it on purpose, but they appreciated it anyway.

They took the whiteboard, nodding in confirmation. Riddles were not Chara's specialty by  _ any _ means, especially when they could end up being some obscure monster riddles, but they would do their best. At the very least, they were good at finding the hidden meanings in things and clever wordplay, which was what made up ninety percent of riddles in the first place.

They would  _ probably _ be okay.

"Great!" Undyne said, sounding utterly thrilled. She quickly shoved on a pair of glasses, pulling her hair up into a neat bun. It probably would have made her look very professional if it weren't for the fact that she was still wearing the anime t-shirt, and Chara could tell that the glasses were fake. "Here's the first riddle;

_ A murderer is condemned to death. They are supposed to choose between three rooms: _

_ One is filled with raging fires, one is filled with assassins with loaded guns, and one is filled with lions that haven't eaten for years.  _

_ Which room is the safest to enter?" _

Chara blinked.  _ That _ was the riddle? Not only was that... oddly morbid compared to what Chara was expecting, that seemed more like a logic puzzle. Hm. Well, no matter.

They took a moment to think on it, tapping the marker cap against their chin, but then they thought they got it! Chara proudly wrote down their answer, turning the board around so that Undyne and Napstaton could see.

"Ding! You are correct!" Undyne cheered, and her and Napstaton clapped enthusiastically as Chara grinned in triumph. "It would be the third room, because after not eating for years, the lions would all be dead! Excellent work."

It felt like a bit of a strange thing to claim victory over, but Chara was willing to take their wins where they could get them.

"Okay, next riddle;

_ What five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters?" _

Chara grinned, not even having to take time to think about this one. It was a classic, and it had been used on them in school several times. This was the kind of riddle that you only fell for once, after all.

Chara wrote their answer down immediately, turning it around and showing them both what they came up with.

"Correct!" Undyne said, laughing at their eagerness. "The word itself is 'short'. Nice job! You ready for the last one?"

Chara nodded quickly, feeling really pumped up and totally prepared. These weren't nearly as hard as Chara feared they would be, and this was going pretty well! Maybe, if they got all of these right on the first try, Undyne would be impressed...?

Napstaton laughed as well, reaching out to pat them on the head. "You're doing great, kid. Answer this last riddle correctly, and Undyne will allow you to pass through her lab uninhibited!"

Their tone was rather teasing, considering the fact that Chara was already in the lab, and Undyne seemed to pick up on it if the way she puffed out her cheeks in annoyance was any indication. But she recovered quickly, and prepared the final challenge.

"Okay, here we go! This is a really tough one, so pay attention!

_ When you need me, you throw me away. But when you're done with me, you bring me back. Who am I?" _

Chara blinked, utterly confused. Was it...  _ trash, _ maybe? Or recycling? It had to be something along those lines, right? Considering that it talked about throwing things away... But still, that didn't quite fit.

What was something that you threw away when you needed it, but brought it back when you were done? It had to be a trick question, or something. Chara couldn't think of anything that would apply here.

The human was stumped.

After another moment of hesitation, Chara put their board down on their lap and shook their head. They didn't know the answer.

They refused to look up at the two monsters watching them, and flinched violently when Undyne sighed in disappointment.

"Oh well," she said, though she was obviously unsatisfied. "Two out of three isn't bad. The answer is 'an anchor', by the way. You throw an anchor over the side of a boat when you need it, and bring it back when you're done with it."

Chara just wanted to sink into their chair and never be seen again. Couldn't they even do this much right? They couldn't even do a couple of riddles without failing in an utterly humiliating manner?

God, they were so  _ useless. _

Napstaton reached out, as if to try and pat their head again. "Aw, don't worry about it kid, that really was a tough one - "

Without even thinking, Chara smacked their hand away, and then immediately froze. They'd  _ hit _ Napstaton. Oh god, the robot was going to be so angry with them - !

But when they looked up, cringing away as they expected an attack to come flying at them, the two monsters just seemed concerned.

"I'm sorry," Napstaton said, apologizing to them for some reason. "I shouldn't have just touched you like that without your permission. But I wanted to let you know that it's okay that you missed one. This was all just in good fun. Undyne was going to let you go through her lab no matter what,  _ right?" _

Chara was gratified to see that they weren't the only one who feared Napstaton's wrath, because Undyne immediately paled and nodded vigorously.

"Y-Yeah!" she agreed. "It was really just supposed to be fun. I'm sorry if I made you feel like it was a life or death thing, that was never my intention."

Chara just shrugged. It had seemed like fun, sure, but the skeleton brothers had  _ also _ seemed like fun before Sans had fucking  _ fired a machine gun full of bones _ right into their face. Can't trust anybody these days.

Napstaton looked at them in sympathy, giving them a kind smile. "Okay, how about this. Wanna lay down on the ground and feel like garbage with me?"

Chara blinked, utterly bemused. Was that... a thing?? Were they supposed to know what that meant?

"It's a family tradition," Napstaton explained, sensing their confusion. "C'mon!"

Napstaton got out of the office chair that they had claimed and settled on the lab floor, their hands behind their head as they closed their eyes. Undyne followed suit, shrugging when Chara gave her a weird look, and made herself comfortable.

Was is still too late for them to just walk away? Chara actually considered it for a second, since it was becoming a more tempting offer by the minute, but they finally relented, laying down on the door to feel like garbage.

Not that they ever had any trouble with that, of course.

The lab was silent as they all laid there, eyes closed, but it wasn't a tense or uncomfortable silence. In fact, Chara was actually starting to feel at peace.

It had been a very, very long day. They'd fallen down a mountain, met a really cool goat man and then almost killed him, traveled through a perilous underground cavern, met a couple of skeletons...

Skeletons, who had killed them. Oh, sure, it was really only Sans who had done the killing, and Chara wasn't even sure if he had done it on  _ purpose, _ but the point still stands. Out of everything that had happened today, even their multiple breakdowns and Asriel's sad story, this was still the thing that was sticking with them.

Chara had died. They'd  _ died, _ and it  _ hurt. _ They didn't know how to reconcile that with everything else that they'd done, didn't know how to handle it. Shouldn't they be  _ beyond _ that now?

God, they felt so  _ weak. _ Some part of them knew that they shouldn't, that they had been through a traumatic thing that would have hurt  _ anyone, _ but a larger part of them was just screaming in their ear, telling them that a  _ demon _ does not feel hurt, a  _ demon _ does not get trauma, a  _ demon _ does not -

But, honestly... The longer they laid there, upon the cold lab floor, the more that screaming faded away. Chara wasn't over it, by any means, but... it was softer, now. Not as overwhelming.

They still wanted nothing to do with those two skinny bastards, though. Mean skeletons don't get any of their sympathy.

It was nice, though. Just laying here, not having to worry about anything. Chara could see why someone would make this a family tradition - it was really helping them put some things into perspective. 

After another few minutes of just quiet relaxation, Napstaton spoke up, their voice heavy with the chill vibes that were in the air right now. "It's not a permanent solution. But something like this... It can make you feel better in the short term, and sometimes the short term is what you need to keep going. You feel me?"

Chara nodded, and then realizing that since everybody was still chilling out with their eyes closed there was no way that Napstaton would be able to see it, so they reluctantly cracked open their eyelids and reached over to pat them gently on the shoulder.

Napstaton seemed to understand. Undyne smiled, and even though her teeth were probably sharp enough to cut through concrete, it didn't cause Chara any fear.

..

Eventually, Chara knew that they had to move on. They'd stayed here for almost two hours now, chilling and watching crappy anime, and trying out some of Napstaton's brand name NTT Nice Cream. Which was really helpful, because Chara was so hungry they felt like their stomach was going to drop right out of their guts.

They had to get going. They knew that they had loitered for too long already. How did they know this?

Because Papyrus showed up at the door.

Thankfully, Chara was already by the exit when this happened, and Napstaton and Undyne waved them off as they went to go see who it was. Chara only heard a second of the taller skeleton's baritone voice before they were running off like a shot.

"hey, have either of you two seen - "

Chara didn't waste any time, booking it the second they felt Hotland's oppressive heat on their skin. They were not going to deal with that guy, not now and not  _ ever! _

Besides... they really weren't sure how they felt about Papyrus. Sans was easy, because they were angry with Sans, and it was  _ always _ easy to be angry. But Papyrus was complicated. They weren't sure if they were really mad at him, or if they were just confused.

He had acted so strange in their last encounter... teleporting in front of them like that, nearly  _ berating _ Sans...

It was all just so strange.

It had seemed like Papyrus was acting in their defense, but Chara just couldn't understand  _ why. _ He had been so laid-back and nearly uncaring about everything except his puzzles and his brother, why would he bother to go to the bat for them?

The very thought of it made Chara uneasy. The brothers' had fought because of Chara, had gotten  _ angry _ and  _ disappointed _ in each other. How were they supposed to be okay with that? How were they supposed to  _ deal _ with it?

Chara didn't understand people, humans or monsters. They didn't know how to reconcile with others, or help them understand their feelings, or anything like that. Chara never even did that on their own!

So what were they supposed to do? Was there anything that they  _ could _ do?

(And since when had it become their responsibility in the first place?)

Chara shook their head, dislodging those thoughts for now. It wouldn't help them at all. For right now, they had to concentrate on just avoiding the skeleton brothers. It didn't matter if they were mad at the two, or scared, or anything else.

All that mattered was that they weren't ready. And they didn't know if they ever  _ would _ be. In the future, maybe, but certainly not now. 

So, Chara ran on, ducking around monsters trying to get to work and school. At one point, they'd had to carefully step over a whole bunch of spiders, who were wearing tiny cute uniforms and chatting amongst themselves.

Chara wasn't much a fan of spiders, but even they could admit that the little guys had been way adorable, and adorable things were Chara's greatest weakness. 

Eventually, when they were ducking away from a glimpse of a blue bandanna, Chara found themself in... a fire pit?

It looked kinda like that anyway, if fire pits came in very large sizes and had tons of tiny, walking fire creatures roaming around.

Chara stared in fascination, slowly getting to their feet. They'd accidentally slid down the side wall when coming in here, since they hadn't noticed the drop in time. They couldn't find it in themself to regret it though, because this was  _ really cool! _

Standing at the epicenter, wearing a snappy business outfit and a pair of tiny glasses, was a man made entirely out of fire. He didn't have any visual facial features, but Chara realized that he must have been looking at them, because he gestured for the human child to approach.

Chara did so freely, not even considering being cautious despite the fact that he could decide to burn them to a crisp at any second. They were too fascinated, looking upon him in wonder.

It was  _ amazing!  _

Chara caught themself wishing that Asriel was here so that they could share this moment with him, but quickly pushed it down. They  _ did _ wish that he was here, but he wasn't, so there was no use dwelling on such a thing.

Instead, they focused on the fire monster in front of them, gazing up at him eagerly.

He almost seemed to laugh at the expression on their face, before speaking. His words were so soft, like the cracklings of a dying fire, that Chara could barely hear him.

They strained to listen carefully, concentrating.

"Are... you from... the Ruins?" he asked, and again, though he had no eyes, Chara got the feeling that he was staring down at them.

Chara nodded, almost absent-mindedly. They were looking into the fire that made up his form. Pretty fire...

A line opened up in his face, making it look like a crack in a magma rock. Chara realized that this was his smile.

"That's... good..." he whispered. "My cousins there... sent a letter... saying that you bought some hot chocolate... while you were there with Asgore. My name is... Grillby... It's a pleasure to... meet your acquaintance."

Chara, caught up in their wonder and happiness, lifted their hands to sign before they had the chance to think better of it.

*Nice to meet you,* they signed, taking no notice of the way Grillby's smile widened. *My name is C H A R A. I really liked your hot chocolate. I think I still have one in my pocket!*

There was a sound like burbling lava, and Chara could only watch in complete fascination as Grillby laughed.

"I'm... glad you... like it..." he said, and the fire of all the other monsters around them glinted in his glasses. "You are welcome to... come here whenever you... like... I know the Underground is not always safe... for children."

Chara glanced up at his face, sharply, but he revealed nothing. He clearly knew that they were human, but he didn't seem inclined to say anything, so Chara wouldn't mention it either. Besides, he had recognized their sign language, hadn't he? So, they really didn't want to get on his bad side. He would be a good ally for them.

*Do you have any more hot chocolate?* they questioned, walking alongside Grillby as he started to show them around. In one corner, there was a little open bar area that they hadn't noticed before. *I'm pretty sure the stuff I have is still good, but... I want more anyway. I have plenty of gold!*

"...Certainly..."

Grillby and all of his little helpers waved Chara off as they left a few minutes later, hot chocolate firmly in hand as well as a basket of fries for the road. Chara waved back, giving a thumbs up to the green fire monster who had turned out to be Grillby's daughter. Her name was Fuku, and Chara had given her some advice on how to make up with her girlfriend, who was apparently mad that Fuku had forgotten their anniversary.

Chara may not have known how to deal with emotions like sadness, or disappointment, but they were pretty good at flattery!

They never  _ used _ it, of course, unless they were trying to get out of trouble. And even then, it was honestly more fun just to make a run for it.

...Which is what they ended up having to do when they saw Papyrus loitering outside the NTT resort. They didn't know if he was actually  _ looking _ for them, or was just skipping work again, but they also weren't very interested in finding out.

They managed to sneak past him, and through the resort. After getting lost several times in the shitty puzzle that made up the CORE, they finally reached a long corridor, at the end of which was an elevator.

According to what Undyne had told them before they ran for it, this elevator would take them right to the castle, where they would be able to confront the Queen.

Hopefully Asriel would keep his word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chara: *starts experiencing genuine human emotion*  
> chara: oh no
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	12. your death is the western horizon

Chara woke up in a dark place, and they were shivering and retching before they could stop themself. Nothing like _that_ had ever happened before!

It hadn't _hurt,_ of course not, but... to have their body spasm like that, completely out of their control, it was -

It was _terrifying._ God, was this fear? They had never _not_ been in control of themself. Sure, they'd gotten injured plenty of times over the years, even in some pretty awful ways, but they had never felt powerless like that. Even in those times when they were injured, it still felt like they had some control over the situation, because they were able to remain calm!

It didn't hurt, so they stayed calm. And when they were calm, Chara was in control.

So... why was this happening? Why couldn't they slow their breathing, stop their eyes from watering?

What _was_ this?

Then they heard a small noise, like someone gasping, and Chara quickly wrenched all of their vulnerability away, tucking it under a boulder to never be seen or heard by human eyes again.

They whipped their head around, narrowing their eyes at whoever thought they could startle them with their approach, only to blink in confusion when it was revealed to be one of the kids from before. The one who had been deaf, or at least hard of hearing.

*Hello,* they signed. *My name is F R I S K. It's nice to see you again.*

Chara didn't say anything for a long moment - they didn't know _what_ to say. Then, they smiled, trying to push away the uneasy feeling the other child gave them and make them feel uneasy instead.

"Greetings," they said, letting their smile crawl across their face like an twitching insect. "My name is Chara. It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Frisk."

Frisk just nodded, grinning happily and looking entirely at ease. _God,_ Chara hated it. Didn't they realize that Chara didn't want them here right now, didn't want to talk to them?

Chara just wanted to be left alone, to be left alone with the shivers still making their way through the child's body.

_Just leave, just leave, just leave!_

Chara felt like they were only inches from lashing out, inches from pulling out their knife that they'd had no reason to use and stabbing Frisk right in their stupid, _goddamn_ face.

...Huh. Was this how that other Chara felt all the time? They must be exhausted. It was hard to keep all this anger contained.

Then, they noticed Frisk raising their hands to sign once again, and Chara went back to paying attention, even if it was a grudging thing.

*Do you remember what happened right before you got here?* Frisk signed, tilting their head to the side in question.

Chara could practically feel their smile falter as they fought to keep it on their face. They... they didn't remember much. Just that awful, involuntary movement - heh, talk about a twitching insect.

"I... Maybe?" Chara said slowly. They tapped their finger against their chin as they tried to think of what could have happened. Something like that... It had never happened to them before, but they knew what it _sounded_ like, for sure. "It all happened so fast... I think I might have been electrocuted?"

Frisk's eyes widened, and Chara was bemused to see the way the child's hands went up to cover their mouth in shock.

*Electrocuted?!* they signed frantically, actually stepping closer to Chara as if to inspect them for any injuries. *Are you okay? Are you in pain?*

Chara... didn't know what to feel. On one hand, they still wanted to be angry. They wanted to be angry, and shout, and push Frisk away - _violently,_ if necessary. But on the other hand...

Right now, Frisk was reminding them a lot of Temmie. And that was probably the best way to get a surefire entrance to Chara's sympathy.

They could feel their expression softening, just the tiniest bit, and for once they didn't bother to try and stop it.

"No. But I cannot feel pain, so I wouldn't be able to tell you even if I was," Chara said, feeling faintly amused by the whole thing.

Their anger, which had been fueling them and giving them the motivation to keep moving even if it was only out of sheer spite... was fading away. And they didn't feel any lesser for it. In fact, they felt rather calm.

Calm, again. But a different sort of calm than the one they typically employed. This one felt more steady, somehow.

Chara was grateful for that, at the very least.

*That's not very reassuring!* Frisk scolded, and Chara might have thought they were being serious if it wasn't for the tiny smile on their face that they were unable to hide. It seemed that Frisk could see the humor in this situation too, even if it was a dour one.

"Perhaps not," Chara murmured, and then gave Frisk a searching look. If they were here, and they had even thought to ask that question in the first place... Something must have happened to them, right? Strangely, Chara found themself feeling a bit disconcerted at the thought. "What about you? Did something similar occur in wherever you are?"

Frisk visibly hesitated for a moment, biting their lip. Much like Chara, it seemed that they weren't feeling particularly enthusiastic to speak on the subject. *I... I think so? There was just this blue light, and then a bunch of spikes appeared! I got speared through before I could even blink!*

Chara winced, easily picturing it. They must have gotten killed by a trap in Waterfall, like Chara. "Ah, my apologies."

They knew that by bringing it up that they would be forced to delve back into those memories, but there was no way to avoid it. If they wanted to figure out what was going on, they would have to think about all the possibilities, even the ones that sucked.

Frisk just waved it off. They understood that there was other things that they needed to be focused on right now.

*It's okay. But we need to think about the important things right now - like, how did we get here?* Frisk signed, bringing up an excellent point. *Obviously, it's connected to us getting hurt in an irreversible way. That's what happened when we fell down the mountain, right?*

Chara hummed considerably, their posture shifting as they thought about what this apparent thread could lead them both two.

"That could be it," Chara mused. Honestly, they hadn't given it much thought, considering they had initially believed the whole experience was some kind of strange fever dream. They still weren't entirely putting that idea aside, but there was quite clearly something else going on here. "It's a connection that we all had at the start, and now it's only the two of us here, while we had remarkably similar experiences on the outside. There must be _something_ there."

Frisk could only nod, and Chara understood why. Theories were great and all, but they didn't have enough information to really base them on. They needed to know more. And to do that, they needed to get out of this place.

"Well, we can't do anything about it here," Chara said briskly, planting their hands on their hips. Maybe keeping a go-getter attitude would help mask the uncertainty they were feeling? It probably wouldn't work for long, but Chara was still willing to give it a shot. "Why don't we head back? Do you remember how you did it the first time?"

Frisk hesitated, and then made a so-so gesture with a sheepish expression. It seemed like they could remember it, but they still weren't sure how they'd managed to escape.

They could work with that. Considering the fact that Chara was still a bit unsure themself, this was probably the best that they were gonna get.

"Okay, okay," Chara said, nodding to themself. They could do this. They wouldn't mess up again. "Let me try to explain. When you left that first time, the rest of us ended up leaving in a similar manner. I was the last one out, and I think I have vaguely figured out how it works."

'Vaguely' being the key word there. That smug-ass other Chara was the one who _really_ had it all worked out, but it wasn't like either of them could exactly talk to the stab-happy child right now.

Frisk was being very patient with them, however, despite the obvious vagueness in their statements. They only gestured for Chara to continue, not pressuring them or anything like that.

"You just have to really, _really_ want it, I think," Chara explained. They grunted, and made a frustrated hand gesture when their explanation didn't come out quite like they wanted it to. They weren't used to feeling like this, and they didn't think they liked it. "I mean, you have to focus _only_ on that. You have to push all of your determination into leaving, like you'll explode if you don't."

Frisk gave them an alarmed look, their eyes widening. Chara huffed, crossing their arms over their chest as they tried to cover up their embarrassment.

"It's an expression," they muttered, their lips pursing.

Frisk kept up their wide-eyed look for another long second before letting it melt away, punching Chara playfully on the arm.

Chara scowled at them, though they could feel a smile tugging at their lips. They were reluctantly impressed - it had been a while since someone had managed to pull the innocence card on Chara, and even less had done it successfully. Usually, that was the play that _they_ liked to use.

Still, Chara wasn't offended. Instead, they held their arm with mock-outrage, pretending that Frisk's tiny baby punch had caused them great pain.

"Hey, watch it!" Chara complained. "I just got this fixed!"

_That_ was true, and Chara could say that they were rather attached to keeping this arm in one piece, even if their arm didn't seem too inclined to put in the effort. Frisk was still smiling, but they could see the way the other kid had faltered for a moment, as if debating whether or not it was worth it to ask what they meant.

Obviously, they must have decided to leave it alone for the moment, because they raised their hands to sign again.

*Ready to try, then?*

Chara examined their strange counterpart for a moment. They knew that their smile had slipped off their face, but they didn't bother to try and paste it back into place. This... This was _serious._

Frisk was a nice person - Chara could see that now. They supposed that they could see it before, too, but they were blinded by the helpless rage in their heart. Now, they looked at Frisk, and wondered how often they could end up back in this dark place if they weren't careful. They wondered how dangerous the place Frisk had ended up in was compared to theirs, they wondered if Frisk had anyone helping them like Chara had Temmie, they wondered...

Well, they wondered about a lot of things. But Frisk was a nice person, a _good_ person, (like Temmie) so Chara thought that they could afford to let go of their self-imposed persona for right now.

"Yes, I suppose we must. But be careful. If your Underground is anything like mine, it is a surprisingly treacherous place. Don't let your guard down."

Frisk was stabbed to death by a magic attack that they had never even had the chance to see coming. Chara had been electrocuted in a goddamn marsh, with Temmie in their arms.

Nothing was sacred, and nothing was safe. They had to be _careful._

*Alright,* Frisk signed, nodding in compliance before they added, *you too.*

Chara smiled - for once, the expression was entirely genuine. "Okay."

With that final word, both children squeezed their eyes shut, concentrating with everything they had.

Chara _had_ to go back. Even if everything sucked and it was absolutely terrible, they couldn't give up. Giving up wasn't even in their nature to begin with! And now...

_Now_ they had people that were relying on them. People who were looking for them to succeed, people who wanted them to come back.

Temmie, Asgore, maybe even the skeleton brothers. They all wanted Chara to keep going.

(And maybe, just maybe, Chara was starting to want to keep living for _themself,_ too.)

Chara had to go back. They _would_ go back, and there was nothing in this world or this featureless void that could stop them!

Then, the ground opened up beneath their feet, and Chara took in the now familiar feeling of the fall.

...

This time, Chara woke up to somebody else sobbing and shaking, holding onto their body like it was a lifeline.

It was Temmie.

Chara glanced around, taking a second to note that they were back at the entrance to Waterfall, before immediately stepping off the path and finding a place to hide. Crouching behind a couple of snowy trees, they cradled Temmie in their arms.

The small monster still couldn't bring themself to speak, merely crying loudly in Chara's embrace.

"Shh, shh," Chara soothed them rubbing the back of their head gently. "It's okay, it's alright. Everything is okay now."

"N-No it's n-not!" Temmie wailed, completely ignoring Chara's attempts to shush them and prevent attention from being drawn to their little den. "Y-You _died!_ And I-I couldn't bring you back, and it's a-all my fault in the first place, and - !"

"And _nothing,"_ Chara said crossly, pulling the little creature a bit away from their body so that they could pinch Temmie's cheeks in punishment. "How could this be any of your fault? Did you set the trap? Did you make me stupidly walk onto it without even checking if there was a trap in the first place? No."

They softened when Temmie gave a miserable sniffle, and let out a sigh.

"Look," they said, a bit more gently. "There was really nothing that you could have done to prevent that. Please, don't let it hang over you, okay?"

Temmie pouted, shaking their head.

"I should have known!" they insisted. "I've been through Waterfall before, I was _there_ when Alphys first put in the traps. I should have known better than to let you meet your end in such a horrible way!"

Heh. Temmie was sweet, but sometimes Chara thought that it was for entirely the wrong reasons.

"It's okay," they lied. "I didn't even feel anything. No pain, remember?"

Temmie gave them a reproachful look. "This isn't just _about_ the pain, and you know that. Physical pain itself can be overcome - we could both be described as examples of that. Mental pain, _emotional_ pain... Those are things that last for much longer, and seem to show up at the most inconvenient moments possible. I think we, uh, also qualify for that one."

Chaar scowled, but ended up just shrugging in a vague agreement. They wanted to argue the point, but Temmie was actually right about most of that stuff.

"Fine, fine," they said dismissively, waving a hand in a goodbye gesture. "So not everything is as peachy-keen perfect as we want it to be. Could you really blame me? I mean, pretty much everything in this cavern has been _dead-set_ on getting rid of me, y'know."

Temmie did not seem amused, and Chara actually laughed nervously, darting their eyes away so that they wouldn't have to see that judging stare.

"...Okay, in my defense, that joke is a lot funnier when it isn't in such poor taste," they mumbled, fidgeting with their hands just to have something to do.

"It was _never_ funny," Temmie said in a deadpan voice.

Heh, that was another good one. But for the sake of their continued health, Chart refrained from saying it out-loud.

"What do _you_ want me to say, then?" Chara said, frustration rising. "What do you want me to _do?"_

They knew what was happening. Chara knew that they were just getting stressed out and pushing people away, trying to lash out fast enough that they wouldn't get the chance to strike back in return.

If Chara had learned _anything_ in their household, it was how to bicker.

"I just need you to be _honest_ with me Chara, honest about what you're feeling!" Temmie cried out, their own frustration evident just from looking at their expression. "I need you to not try to make it all into one big joke, to not throw it to the side and say that you're going to get back to it later. You're not going to get back to it later, Chara, because your _later_ never comes! Hell, I've only spent one damn day with you and I can already say all that!"

Chara was stunned, only able to watch as Temmie panted for breath after that zinger of a monologue.

"I-I..." Chara still didn't know what to say. It wasn't even a matter of being honest - how were they supposed to put it into words? And how would those words come out of their mouth in the correct order, with the right sounds?

Once again, Chara's words had failed them. They merely watched as Temmie stared up at them expectantly, just waiting for them to spill all of their secrets like the blood from a decapitated corpse.

But here was the real secret - Chara _had_ no real secrets. All of the trauma, all of the dark shit they had gone through over the years... It had always been _obvious._ They had never had to explain it to anyone, let alone someone that they actually liked and considered a friend.

Emotions were complicated. In contrast, gardening was simple! It was something they could do while sitting with their Mother, quietly enjoying the atmosphere as they plucked weeds out of the ground, side by side.

But those quiet days had been few and far between, and now Chara’s head was so loud!

_Everything_ was too loud, and Chara didn't know how to handle it!

Their breathing quickened, vision going blurry as they tried to center themself, get back some of the calm that Frisk had given to them. It wasn't working. It wasn't working! _It wasn't -_

"It's okay!" Temmie was saying frantically, hitting their little paws against Chara's legs to try and get their attention. "It's okay Chara, nothing is going to hurt you! I won't let anyone hurt you again, so please just _listen_ to me!"

Chara sucked in a shaky breath, honestly trying to give Temmie their attention, but their eyes wouldn't focus and their brain wasn't working and nothing was working! _Nothing!_

The human child fell to their knees, gasping for breath. Why wasn't it working? What was wrong with them? There must be something _wrong_ with them!

"I'm sorry!" Temmie was crying, wrapping themself around Chara as well as they could. "Things suck and it isn't fair and _I'm sorry!_ I know that sometimes things _can't_ be okay, and those times can make you feel like nothing will ever be okay again, but I promise they will! I'll be right here beside you, and I'll make sure of it!"

Strangely, even though Chara still felt like their head could explode at any moment from lack of oxygen, they felt themself... quieting. Temmie was babbling, doing anything they could to try and make Chara feel better, and it was working.

Slowly, yes, and not in any permanent kind of way, but it was _working._ That was more than anything Chara could say about their own coping mechanisms.

It took a couple more minutes, Temmie nearly talking themself hoarse, but Chara was finally able to take in a breath that didn't feel like it was choking them on the way down. Then they took another breath, and another, until they were able to breathe okay again.

Temmie sighed, looking immensely relieved. "Chara? Are you... well, I suppose there would be no point in asking if you were okay now, but are you feeling a little bit better than before, at least?"

Chara smiled, letting out a fond sigh. "Yes, thank you. I... don't really know what came over me. Thank you for staying with me Temmie, and helping me. I really needed it."

"Of course!" Temmie said, seeming utterly insulted at the idea of being anywhere else. "What was I supposed to do, dump you and run in the opposite direction?"

Chara shrugged. "It _was_ an option, you know."

"No, no," Temmie grumbled, pacing in tight circles in front of them. "Something like that is never an option. What the heck is the surface doing to you to make you think that?"

Chara froze, their smile becoming tight, and Temmie froze too. They turned to look at Chara, their ears drooping down.

"Sorry, that was... out of line," they murmured, ducking their head in apology. They didn't apologize for the sentiment, however.

Chara could understand why. There was a lot of things about the surface world that they didn't understand either. But...

Despite everything, it _was_ their home. It was the only home that they had ever known. That didn't mean that Chara couldn't see the faults in it, or its people, but it _did_ mean that Chara knew about all those other things too!

Chara knew about the ice cream man at the park who was always willing to give out a free cone to kids - he was teasing, and tended to make bad jokes about the weather, but he was so utterly, _needlessly_ kind.

Yes, for everything that Chara hated about their life, or their town, or humanity in general, there was this; _unnecessary kindness._ Things that people didn't have to do, but they did it anyway.

Like Ms. Linda paying special attention to Chara whenever they were feeling ignored, or overwhelmed, or a million other things. Like Frisk, who had smiled at Chara without any motivation behind it, and been frantic over the thought of them being injured.

Chara could even point to a few times when their parents had done such a thing - a time when they had shown Chara a kindness that wasn't required of them. Chara's parents used their correct pronouns, and had done so since the day Chara had told them.

They didn't _have_ to do that, but they did. Sure, they did plenty of other things that Chara was angry about and not planning to let go of anytime in the future, but...

But. Humans were okay, sometimes. Chara was willing to admit that much.

"The Underground isn't all it's cracked up to be either," Chara said out-loud, instead of any of the impassioned rant they had just gone on in their head. "You have to make do with what you've got. And yeah, sometimes it sucks. That's why it's up to all of _us_ to make it as un-sucky as possible."

"Heh, wise words," Temmie said, and for the first time since Chara had woken up, they seemed to relax a little bit. "We should probably try to get through Waterfall again, huh? Don't worry, I'll go in front of you in case of any traps. They don't affect my HP like they do to yours."

Chara frowned, not entirely comfortable with that idea, but nodded anyway. It was probably the best bet they were going to have here, since a single trap had been enough to knock Chara right out of the game, and there was no way that Temmie would be able to remember where every single trap was.

They could remember routes and destinations, sure, but all of the little things in between seemed to be beyond them.

Chara stood up, grandly gesturing for Temmie to go ahead of them. Temmie did so with an amused snort, pretending to strut away in a manner that made them look like a prized poodle.

Luckily, Chara had found a good hiding spot, and they still weren't too far away from the entrance to the next area.

Temmie cautiously stepped forward when they got closer, able to extend their leg far enough to test the ground without really getting caught up in any of the ensuing blast. They both steered clear of the trap that had killed Chara the first time, none too eager to repeat that whole experience.

Of course, they hadn't taken even two more steps forward when something else happened, which was just some kind of horrible karma, apparently.

A huge, armored lizard came tearing out of the bushes, making a horrifying screeching noise that prompted Temmie to start screaming in terror, and Chara to nearly have a damn heart attack.

"HUMAN!" she roared, yellow magic crackling around her gauntleted hands in a way that made Chara flinch back, remembering the electricity attack that had gotten them last time. "Time to face your destiny!"

"No thank you!" Chara said immediately, though they tried to be polite about it, and grabbed Temmie, sprinting back towards Snowdin.

There was a moment of silence, as if she couldn't _believe_ that they had actually just done that, and then she roared, leaving Chara in a bit of a cold sweat as they heard her boots pounding against the ground as she ran to catch up with them.

Chara gracefully leaped over the hated electricity trap, inwardly thanking their parents for letting them do three months of ballet before getting nervous about their feet bleeding and making them immediately quit. It was certainly coming in handy now!

Heh, _handy._

No! Chara shook their head, concentrating on their running. This wasn't the time to congratulate themself on their amazing and utterly _hilarious_ sense of humor! They could see the fog just up ahead, signaling that they would be back in Snowdin's cold air soon.

They weren't exactly sure what they were going to do when they got there... Dash off into the woods again, maybe? Try and hide in the town? That was assuming, of course, that none of the townspeople would immediately rat them out, and unfortunately Chara didn't actually have _that_ much faith in them.

Right now, they had no idea what they were going to do. They just focused on escape, holding Temmie under their arm like a squirming, talking football.

"Oh god, we're gonna die!" Temmie was wailing, which was _extremely_ helpful. "That's Alphys, Captain of the Royal Guard! We're gonna die! _Again!"_

"Nobody's dying!" Chara cried out in exasperation. How was it that Temmie could be so competent some of the time, and then completely _moronic_ in others?!

Well, at least it supported their theory that Temmie had been dropped on the head one too many times. It would explain a lot, if that were the case.

However, Chara's statement didn't have quite as much truth to it as they might have hoped. They were only a little bit into the actual area of Snowdin, snow crunching under their sneakers, when they heard Alphys wheezing and gasping behind them.

Entirely against their will, and with Temmie whisper-screaming at them, Chara turned around.

Alphys was panting, bent completely over with her hands on her knees. She held up her hand, as if telling them to wait for a second.

"I-I got this... Just, uh, gimme a moment..." she then proceeded to groan loudly, muttering some kind of expletive that made Temmie look positively scandaled.

"Are you... okay?" Chara ventured, wavering in place. They almost wanted to go over and help her up or something, because she was _really_ struggling.

"Leave me alone!" Alphys snapped, her breath making clouds in the air in front of her. "I'm f-fine! So j-just stay still, s-so I can kill you!"

"...Are you cold blooded?" Chara said blankly. She was a lizard person, right? And lizards didn't do too well with cold, if Chara could remember anything from their third-grade biology correctly.

"S-So what if I am?!" Alphys said challengingly, standing up straight. She probably would have looked more intimidating if she wasn't _literally_ rattling her armor with how much she was shivering.

"You should go back to Waterfall," Chara advised. "Your armor is probably regulated for that temperature, right? It won't do you too much good here."

"Don't tell me what to do!" And, _again_ with the screaming. Well, it wasn't like Chara had really expected anything different.

"Fine, fine," Chara sighed, making sure to look very put-out. They leaned down, letting Temmie walk on their own.

Temmie gave them a weird look, tilting their head to the side in question, but Chara only gave them a small smirk. Temmie might have been able to talk all of their other major enemies around, but this time _Chara_ was the one with the plan.

"I'll just be going now," Chara said, slowly taking a step backwards.

Alphys' expression contorted with rage, baring her teeth in a snarl. She still seemed distinctly uncomfortable, however, and it probably wasn't helped by the fact that she had thrown her helmet somewhere in a fit of rage when she first started slowing down.

"Oh _no_ you don't!" she said, reaching out with her hands, clearly trying to shoot them with that magic attack that she had showed off before.

Nothing happened.

Alphys' scales colored, and she shook her hands out as if that would get them to work properly.

"Come on!" she shouted in frustration, and Chara was honestly startled to notice little dotted tears in her eyes. "This is your chance Alphys, don't screw it up! J-Just like you always do!"

Her voice cracked, and Chara almost made a run for it when she started to _actually_ cry.

Oh _god,_ this was not how they had expected this to go. It was actually much, _much_ worse than what they had thought in even their most horrible case-scenario. They had expected more electrocution, to be honest.

This was _ten times worse._

Temmie seemed to share their opinion, as they also seemed distinctly uncomfortable with what was occurring, glancing behind them as if waiting for someone else to come by and pick a fight. _Anything_ to get them out of this situation.

"It's, uh, okay," Chara said cautiously. They took a couple of steps forward, standing awkwardly in front of her. "There, there?"

Was this comforting? Probably not, seeing as Chara still didn't quite trust Alphys enough to get closer than this. She _had_ been threatening to kill them, after all.

Then again, so had a bunch of other monsters they met, and most of that had turned out fine. Take Sans and Papyrus for example!

_...Wait._

"Do you know the skeleton brothers?" Chara asked, their excitement rising. This might actually work!

"Know them?" Alphys snarled, though it was rather offset by the fact that her eyes were starting to glaze over a little. "Of c-course I do! Sans is my lieutenant, my second-in-command!"

Huh, really? Chara had known that they were in the guard, but they had no idea how high up Sans was. Good for him!

"Well, since you know them, I'm sure that you know their house is right nearby," Chara said, dismissing that other stuff for now. "How about this - we can all go there and warm up for a bit, and _then_ you can try your best to kill me, okay?"

"D-Don't patronize me!" Alphys said, but her tone was rather weepy, and that kind of ruined the effect.

"I would never," Chara promised solemnly, righting to keep their expression still as Alphys stared at them suspiciously.

By Chara's feet, Temmie was giggling and covering their mouth with their paws, trying not to give away the game just yet.

Alphys nodded after another moment of inspection, though she made sure to act very grudging about it.

"Alright, human, I'll play your little game!" she declared, placing her hands on her hips as if that would disguise her shivering. "J-Just as one last mercy, before I kill you in cold blood!"

"Of course," Chara said agreeably, having to bite their lip to stop themself from laughing. Ha, _cold blood._ The fact that Alphys had done it entirely on accident was what made it really funny.

They walked further into Snowdin together, though they were at a respectable distance. Chara graciously allowed Alphys to step in front of them and knock on the door, knowing that she wouldn't want them to go first. Of course, Alphys was also suspicious of their decision to allow her _that,_ which was unavoidable.

Seeing as Chara was probably considered some kind of enemy of the state or something, it made sense. They couldn't blame her for that.

(They also found it pretty amusing, actually. But they actually wanted to live a little bit longer, so they wouldn't tell her that.)

She knocked heavily on the door, leaning on the wooden door frame and panting with the energy that had taken from her. Chara shifted in place, caught between wanting to hold the scary Captain up and preserving their precious livelihood.

They chose to keep all of their internal organs in place, and just let Alphys do her thing.

Sans yanked open the door, scowling darkly. He didn't even stop to take in who was knocking, and instead started right on his rant.

"IF THIS IS ABOUT THE HUMAN, THEN I WILL HAVE TO KINDLY ASK YOU TO - WAIT, CAPTAIN? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" his eyelights slowly moved, taking in Chara and Temmie standing next to her, the latter of which was waving sheepishly. "AND... WITH THIS STRANGE CREATURE THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE! WOW! NEAT!"

Alphys stared at him, entirely unimpressed. Sans immediately broke out in a sweat, light dots of dark blue magic appearing on his skull, and hastily invited the group inside. Chara was kind of impressed, actually. They had no idea that skeletons could sweat in the first place.

"who was it, m'lord?" Papyrus called out lazily from where he was sprawled out on the couch.

"GUESTS, PAPYRUS," Sans said through gritted teeth. "WON'T YOU PLEASE TURN AROUND AND GREET THEM?"

"who could possibly be - _oh._ it's you, uh, captain. sir," Papyrus said hastily, getting up from the couch and giving a sloppy salute.

"At ease," Alphys grunted. She began pulling her armor off the second she was inside, revealing her tank top and jeans that she was wearing underneath.

Chara curiously poked the armor, and found it to be completely ice-cold to the touch. Jeez, no wonder Alphys had succumbed to the cold so easily - her armor must have been practically frozen to her scales!

"Don't touch that!" Alphys barked, having seen their movement out of the corner of her eye, and Chara put their hands up in surrender and backed away.

She narrowed her eyes at them for a moment longer, but then huffed, apparently deciding to dismiss it. Instead, she turned on the skeleton brothers, who were standing next to each other in the middle of the living room.

Well, kind of. Papyrus was a bit hunched over, and he seemed to be trying to hide himself behind his much shorter brother, which didn't accomplish much of anything except looking very humorous. They both had an expression on their faces that said that they had been caught doing something really bad - Chara likened it to the classic 'hand in the cookie jar' feeling.

Apparently, Sans blurting out that he knew about the human within the first five seconds of speaking to Alphys, when he had clearly not told her about their actual encounter was... How do you say it?

A bad idea.

"So," Alphys said, crossing her arms over her chest. She was actually even shorter than Sans and looked a lot less bulky and intimidating without her armor on, but she was still managing to get these two fully-grown men to cower before her. "The _human,_ huh? Sure would have been nice if my lieutenant had mentioned something like that to me when I called him for my report!"

Sans cringed, more sweat appearing on his brow.

"I... I WAS..." Sans took a deep breath, seeming to calm himself in that moment. He returned his gaze to Alphys, staring at her steadily as stood at attention, hands held behind his back. "I was planning to inform you in due time, Captain."

Woah, what the hell was this?? Sans, actually able to talk to someone without practically screaming in their ear? _Preposterous._

Chara wasn't sure if they approved. This new Sans was far too stuffy for their tastes - they wanted the old Sans, who treated their injuries while simultaneously threatening to kill them, and was also apparently very good at sewing.

Alphys must have witnessed this once or twice before, however, because she did nothing except raise a brow in reaction.

_"Due time,_ Sans?" she said gruffly. "When exactly was that supposed to be? After the human was out of my territory, and therefore not under my jurisdiction?"

Sans fidgeted, just a tiny bit, but it was enough for both Chara and Alphys to know that it was the truth.

Alphys let out a big sigh, and Chara shrank back a little bit, feeling bad for inadvertently landing the skeleton brothers with an intense scolding, but Alphys pushed away all of their fears as she gave a hearty laugh.

She walked over, slapping Sans on the shoulder with what seemed to be a comradely manner, though he winced and scowled at her without her notice.

"Sans, if you wanted to keep all the glory to yourself, then you should have stopped them from leaving Snowdin!" she scolded, though she was now smiling in a way that showed she didn't mind it _too_ much. "Look, I get it. Can't say I wouldn't do the same if I was in your place. But what if the human we got wasn't a wimpy loser like this one?"

"Hey!" Chara interjected, frowning. They stuck their tongue out when Papyrus shot them a sly glance, chuckling to himself. Just because it was _true_ didn't mean that she had to say it out-loud.

"They could have hurt monsters," Alphys continued, not paying any mind to their interruption. She looked a bit more serious now, gripping Sans' shoulder tightly. "As members of the Royal Guard, it's our job to make sure that things like that don't happen. You get it, right?"

"Of course," Sans grumbled, still in that strange quieter tone that honestly set Chara's teeth on edge. "There has never been a reason to doubt my conviction in that area. But what you said is correct - the human has never harmed anyone. In fact, I have witnessed them going out of their way to avoid such a thing. This, well..."

"What, did it make you soft?" Alphys guffawed, as if it was the funniest idea in the world.

Sans bristled, his cheekbones darkening to that same color as before.

"O-OF COURSE NOT!" he rejected, switching back to his normal volume level out of what appeared to be a mix between irritation and embarrassment. "I WAS MERELY LETTING THEM ESCAPE SO THAT I COULD... I COULD FULLY ENJOY THE THRILL OF THE HUNT LATER ON! ISN'T THAT RIGHT, PAPYRUS?"

Papyrus jolted at being suddenly addressed, nodding immediately. "of course, m'lord. whatever you say."

Chara was the one to snigger this time, Papyrus giving them a sour look.

"Well, I'll forgive it this once!" Alphys said straightforwardly. "Since this one is such a weenie, it isn't really a huge deal. And you're also pretty much the best guard under my employ, so it's not like I can afford to demote you or anything."

Sans went through a complicated set of facial expressions, seemingly torn between feeling pride that she had said he was the best guard, and fear that she had been considering demoting him in the first place.

The pride must have won out, because he gave her a gruff nod. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS, CAPTAIN. AND I WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER MY BEST TO THE GUARD, AND TO YOU."

"See that you do!" Alphys grinned, placing her hands on her hips in a victory pose.

There was silence, for a long minute.

"so, uh..." Papyrus broke in, scratching the back of his skull in some kind of nervous habit. "is there a reason you came here with the human, or...?"

Alphys blinked, looking back at Chara as if she had totally forgotten that they were there. Which was probably true.

"Oh, yeah!" she said, and then hesitated, her eyes darting from Chara and back to the skeletons.

The child understood it in an instant - Alphys was too embarrassed to tell them the truth. Even if she didn't mention how she had raced into Snowdin entirely unprepared for the temperature difference, she would still probably have to mention her little breakdown out there.

The tears had dried quickly, but the awkwardness about the situation absolutely had not.

"The Captain was battling me, quite valiantly," Chara smoothly cut in, deciding to spare her from struggling to give an explanation that didn't make her look like a loser, especially since she had just spent all that time scolding her two underlings. "But then we ended up moving back into Snowdin, and the temperature difference hit me rather hard, I'm afraid. Waterfall's temperature is almost like a rainforest, after all. I simply wasn't prepared, and the Captain decided to do me the great honor of allowing me to recover a bit before she went back to trying to defeat me for the greater good. You understand."

The brothers both had entirely blank looks on their faces, not giving any indication on their feelings, but Chara knew that they were not even remotely convinced. After all, by their time estimation, Chara had only left Snowdin for maybe an hour, at most. That wasn't enough time to get acclimated to another temperature in such a way, no matter how dramatic the distance between the two.

Alphys seemed very hopeful, however, and they must have seen that, because they wisely kept any skepticisms to themselves.

"WELL, CAPTAIN, I AM ABOUT TO MAKE A LATE LUNCH. WOULD YOU CARE TO JOIN ME?" Sans said, and then gave Chara a hard look. "AND YOU TOO, I SUPPOSE."

"That's quite alright Sans, I'm not hungry," Chara dismissed, smiling politely. When Temmie looked like they wanted to protest, Chara subtly nudged the monster with their foot.

As hungry as they were starting to get, they _really_ didn't have time for something like that right now. Their best bet was to get out of here as quickly as possible, and get through Waterfall while Alphys was distracted.

"UNDERSTOOD," Sans nodded. He walked off into the kitchen, and Papyrus stumbled over to fall face-first onto the couch once more, immediately dropping off into slumber.

Alphys, however, stayed behind. She was giving Chara a considering look, and they weren't quite sure what to make of it. She wasn't currently threatening them, which was a plus, but her expression was... _strange._

Finally, she turned away.

"Get moving, punk," she said offhandedly, as if the words meant nothing at all. "If you're gonna give me a good chase, you have to get a good head-start, right?"

"That _would_ make it more fair," Chara nodded agreeably, pushing down their glee as much as they were able. "After all, you're much more fit than me, Captain. I need every bit of help that I can get!"

Alphys snorted, waving her hand in dismissal and heading into the kitchen. "Don't push your luck, kid."

Finally, Chara allowed themself to smile. They glanced down at Temmie, who seemed just as disbelieving, and cautiously hopeful.

Chara slowly stepped back to the front door, keeping an eye out for anyone trying to trick them. No one popped out from behind the coat rack or anything, so they eventually made it to the entrance of the house without issue. They waited for one last second, not believing that Papyrus could actually fall asleep that fast, but he didn't react at all.

So Chara decided to take the chance now, before Alphys or the skeleton brothers decided to retract it, scooping up Temmie and running out the door.

As they ran down the path making up the edge of Snowdin town, they couldn't help the giggles that burst from their throat, wild and free. How many times had they done this already? Exactly how much disaster could possibly happen to them in one day?

Temmie must have caught onto their wavelength, because they were laughing as well, their little body shaking with the force of it.

"D-Did you see their _faces?"_ they wheezed, hanging limp in Chara's grip. "Gosh, I was too afraid to say anything, I thought I was gonna burst any second!"

Chara couldn't help but laugh at the image, shivering slightly as they passed back into Waterfall's deadly entrance for the third time. They were glad that they had something else to think about in this time, at least - something _fun._

"I don't think any of them would have appreciated that!" Chara teased, and Temmie shook their head, still laughing.

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," they admitted, and then started wiggling, wanting to be put down. "Come on! Now that we know Alphys isn't lurking around anywhere, I promise that Waterfall isn't really that scary."

"I'll take your word for it," Chara said, thinking about how they had already died here once, and could possibly do it a second time if they were extraordinarily unlucky.

But, y'know what? They _did_ trust Temmie. It was probably about time, considering all that the little monster had done for them, but Chara trusted them. They knew Temmie would lead them safely through Waterfall, and they knew it only because Temmie promised that they would.

And that was enough.

...

To both Chara's surprise and their deep happiness, Temmie did manage to pull it off, taking them through Waterfall without even encountering any monsters! They showed Chara where Happstablook's house was, and even though Chara had desperately wanted to go visit the kind pink ghost, they had both decided that it was probably for the best that they kept moving.

After all, Alphys' house was actually right next to Happstablook's, and that was the kind of awkward reunion that none of them wanted.

Instead, Temmie lead them even farther in, to an area called Hotland. It had a very apt name, as Chara discovered quickly, and one that they weren't particularly fond of.

Though, obviously, there was nothing that they could do about it.

Temmie pointed out a huge and futuristic-looking laboratory a little ways away, and they both headed for it eagerly, willing to do just about anything to get out of this awful heat and back into that sweet, sweet air-conditioning that they so craved.

The doors were automatic, thankfully, which Chara was very grateful for, even if it did strike them as a bad security measure.

Still, they were happy to breathe in some cool air, sighing happily.

"This is the best place in all of Hotland," Temmie explained lazily, spreading their legs out as they laid on the ground and basked in the coolness of the tile floors. "Undyne is the Royal Scientist, and she's a fish monster, so she can't really survive out in Hotland's environment for very long. She keeps her lab in tip-top shape because of it."

"Yeah, I can't blame her," Chara snorted. "If it was my life on the line, I would make sure that the damn dehumidifier worked too."

Temmie giggled, and the two of them basked in the stillness for a long moment, just enjoying the peace after quite an action-packed day. Seriously, Chara had once broken both of their legs by trying to climb a huge tree in the park and they'd had to stay in casts for what felt like _years_ \- and yet none of that felt even _remotely_ on the same level as the various inconveniences they'd had to deal with today.

And, of course, just waiting to add itself to the list, the peace was broken by a wavering voice coming from further within the lab.

"U-Um, hello? I-Is someone there? This is, um, restricted access you know!"

Chara shot Temmie a questioning glance, and the monster shook their head. Not Undyne, then.

Chara stood up from where they had been leaning against a piece of machinery to relax for a moment, squinting as they tried to see who was talking.

It appeared to be a tall... robot? It was a bit hard for Chara to see exactly, because the robot appeared to be trying to hide themself as much as possible, half wedged behind the fridge.

...Huh. That was a new one.

Temmie winced, scrambling up to hide themself behind Chara's legs.

"It's Napstaton," they whispered. "They're nice, but I really don't think they should see me!"

"I've already seen you!" Napstaton called out, poking their head a little bit over the side of the fridge.

"They've already seen you," Chara said, deadpan, and Temmie stuck their tongue out at the human child.

All attempts at subtly on both sides had been lost, so they all collectively decided to just walk to the middle of the lab.

"I-I'm sorry for yelling," Napstaton said morosely, looking like they might just shrivel up and _die_ if Chara said anything even remotely mean. "I just wasn't expecting anyone to come by today, so I was hoping that... I was hoping..."

_Oh god, not more crying._

"Did you want to be alone?" Chara said quickly, trying to stem this off at the pass. "Because if so, we're sorry to intrude. We can totally get moving, no problem."

"N-No, you're fine," Napstaton sniffled. "I just have to talk to U-Undyne today, and I was so afraid that I was going to lose my nerve just like all of those other times, and - "

"Hey, hey!" Temmie said, stepping forward to gently pat the robot's knee. "You're fine. Is she giving you trouble again?"

Napstaton nodded, looking positively miserable. Chara couldn't focus on that, though. This was another instance like what had happened with the skeleton brothers - why was Temmie so familiar with all of these monsters?

Temmie seemed to catch onto what they were thinking, shooting them a reassuring look.

"I used to spend a lot of time around here," Temmie explained. "It's, uh... one of the safest places in the Underground, even if it does sometimes get a bit... _rowdy._ I got to know Undyne and Napstaton pretty well in the process."

"Yeah," Napstaton agreed, starting to calm down now that they had something else to focus on. "Temmie is a good friend. You're lucky to have them."

Chara smiled down at their little companion, enjoying the way their chest puffed out in pride. "Yes, that's very true. I am grateful in more ways than you could ever imagine."

Napstaton gave a tentative smile, seeming truly cheered after someone had taken the time to speak with them.

Chara almost wanted to just say goodbye and book it, but at this point, they knew how things worked.

"So, why did you need to talk to Undyne? Do you work here with her?" Chara questioned.

Napstaton wilted, just a tiny bit, but then sighed. "Um... Something like that. We're friends, and I help her out with things sometimes, but we're not technically working together. But, um..."

They looked like they were struggling for the right words to explain themself, but Chara only waited patiently. Considering all the times that they hadn't been eating or sleeping, they had a little bit of time to spare.

"Undyne is the one who created this body," they explained slowly, which definitely managed to pique Chara's interest.

'Created the body', instead of saying 'created me'? Chara smelled a good backstory. Unfortunately, that wasn't really the purpose of what Napstaton was talking about, so Chara grudgingly set it aside for now.

"I'm very grateful to her, and she's my best friend, but..."

"But?" Temmie prompted gently when Napstaton hesitated, seeming like they weren't going to continue.

"Well... I need some time to myself, that's all," Napstaton finished, giving a little shrug.

Chara blinked. That was it? That was _easy!_

...Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely fair to say. Things that were easy to Chara weren't always easy to other people, after all. Breaking emotional connections with others was one of the things that Chara did best, so of course they couldn't expect even random passerby on the street to be on their level!

(Which, uh. Was pretty sad, if they actually let themself stop to think about it. Which is why they made a point never to do that.)

"So, you're just gonna talk to Undyne about - "

Chara was cut-off in the middle of their sentence by the elevator by the exit opening, a tall blue-scaled monster stepping out.

"Talk to me about what?" she said cheerfully, and then brightened when she turned to see Napstaton standing there. "Oh, hey! I was just about to call you! The Amalgamates are being really fidgety again, so I need you to go down there and let them, I don't know, chew on your arm for awhile, or something. _Anything,_ so long as they don't try to make a break for it and mess up my lab again."

"A-Actually, Undyne," Napstaton began, after receiving an encouraging look from Temmie and a thumbs-up from Chara. "I came here to talk to you about - "

"Wonderful, perfect," Undyne said, already turning away from the stuttering robot. Her eyes landed on Chara, and she grinned wide, showing off her sharp teeth. "And you must be the human, right? How extraordinary."

The fish-woman walked forward, inspecting Chara as she walked around them in a circle, reminding Chara uncomfortably of a shark.

"You know, I saw you in my monitors," she remarked, tapping her finger against her chin. She was being entirely nonchalant about the whole thing, which honestly made some creepy vibes go off in Chara's head. "I was considering turning you in to the Guards, but I changed my mind."

"O-Oh?" Chara swallowed thickly, cursing their stutter. This was _not_ the time to be intimidated by a lady in a lab coat. If they had been able to stare down Asgore without a problem, than _this_ was nothing!

Of course, Asgore had never talked to them, or _about_ them, in such a creepy manner...

"Yes," Undyne said, still with that same eerie expression. Oh god, was this how people felt when Chara did that to them? How uncomfortable. "I decided that I wanted to observe you, instead. See how you deal with conflict, how you interact with monsters... All that kind of thing."

Well, that actually didn't seem too bad. Chara could tolerate that.

"And then, when you got here, I wanted to dissect you," she said, which totally killed the mood.

"Oh!" Chara squeaked out, fighting the urge to just grab Temmie and make a run for it.

The monster in question had completely hidden themself behind Chara's legs, shaking like a leaf.

"Unfortunately, I don't really have time for that right now," Undyne said, sounding almost bored. "As you heard a moment ago, the Amalgamates are getting a bit too feisty for my tastes. Which reminds me - Napstaton, time to go!"

"I-I-I..." Napstaton could only stutter, wringing their hands together in an obvious nervous gesture. Then, they sighed, shoulders slumping. It seemed that they were going to give up.

Chara frowned, stepping forward and catching Undyne's attention.

"Excuse me," they said, polite but firm. "Napstaton had something that they wished to discuss with you before any of that began."

"What, really?" Undyne blinked, turning to her companion. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Napstaton got a bit of an exasperated expression on their face, but they didn't waste any more time.

"I like helping you!" they blurted out, clearly trying to go throw it all out there in one quick blow. "You're a good friend, and I'm really happy with this body! But... Between helping you with things around the lab and working for the station, I really don't have time to be with my family anymore. I... I haven't seen them in a while. So I was wondering if I, um, could duck out of the lab stuff for a little bit? Just, like, a week maybe. So that I can catch up with them."

They ducked their head and squeezed their eyes shut, apparently waiting for some kind of recrimination, but it didn't come.

Just as Alphys had earlier with the skeletons, Undyne only laughed, punching Napstaton in the arm.

"Of course!" she said, grinning up at the robot. "I appreciate you being here, but I would never _force_ you to stay or anything. You can take a break anytime you want!"

Considering the way that Undyne had completely steamrolled over Napstaton in the beginning of all this, Chara figured that it wasn't _actually_ as easy as Undyne said it was, but Napstaton seemed thrilled, so they would accept the victory for what it was.

Napstaton scrambled out of the lab, leaving with promises of texting and letting Undyne know how they were doing, and the robot even patted Chara's head quickly as they were exiting, so happy at the thought of seeing their family again.

When Chara turned back, smiling at their exit, Undyne was staring directly at them.

Before they could get a chance to panic, however, Undyne merely huffed.

"Head back outside," she advised. "There's an elevator to the north that will get you through Hotland much quicker than taking the normal route, trust me."

"Ah, thank you," Chara said, inclining their head. They... weren't really sure what else to say, or do. "We'll be going now, thanks for the advice."

"No problem," Undyne said, shrugging. "I _was_ planning to dissect you, but it's the strangest thing... Watching someone on a screen really does make you root for them."

Chara smiled at her, genuinely. "I'm glad you found something in me worth rooting for."

Undyne ushered them out a second later, muttering something about buying more dog food under her breath, and the two children did actually take her advice, using the elevator that would take them way up and into Hotland.

After that, Temmie once again took point, showing them through the NTT resort and eventually into a large structure called the CORE. The hallways there were all long and confusing, looking exactly the same, but Chara managed to follow Temmie's instructions well enough, and they were through the area before long.

It was just after that, as they entered a brightly-lit hallway with another elevator at the end, that Temmie began acting really suspicious.

They had been acting mildly suspicious for a little while now, often drifting off in the middle of a conversation as if preoccupied by something, only to snap back to attention with a forced smile.

Chara had let it go at first, because honestly, they probably weren't at their top performance right now either. It had been a very, very long day.

A long journey. And that journey was about to be seen through to its end.

"I... I have to go!" Temmie blurted out suddenly, making Chara freeze.

They turned around to face their monster friend, not having noticed the little creature falling behind.

"Go?" they questioned, acting calm even as their heart was hammering in their chest. "If you need to take care of something, I can wait here. It's not an inconvenience or - "

"No!" Temmie said desperately, before shrinking back, sweating immensely. "I... I _do_ need to take care of something. But I want you to go ahead, okay? I promise that I'll be there when you deal with the Queen, but I need to, um, get something first."

Chara stared them down, wondering if they were really expected to just swallow this bullshit.

But the problem here, is that they really, _really_ wanted to. They wanted to believe that their trust in Temmie wasn't misplaced.

"Okay," they said simply. "I'll be expecting you, then."

They could only hope that this wasn't a horrible mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chara: i have total confidence in this situation  
> temmie: *leaves*  
> chara: ah. time to die
> 
> hey, hope y'all are enjoying!! lemme know what you think. if you have a question/wanna chat, then feel free to hit me up on my [tumblr](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com)! love y'all <3


	13. the way leads neither east nor west, but in

It was time.

...

Frisk walked into a grand hall, sunlight streaming through the stained-glass windows. They must be close to the surface now, for that to happen.

Someone was standing there, waiting for them - Sans, an easy grin on his face and his hands outstretched to sign his words.

*You've done a great job, getting this far,* he signed, making Frisk beam with pride. *Just got a couple last things to tell you, then you can go on your way, okay?*

...

Frisk kept their stick in front of them, using it to make sure that they didn't bump into anything. As they stepped into another room, they could feel some kind of warmth.

They paused for a moment, taking it in. _Sunlight._ They could feel sunlight shining in on their skin. They must be nearly there. Hopefully, Flowey would show up soon.

The child kept walking forward, directly past the skeleton that was standing there, observing them.

He did not say a word, and neither did Frisk.

...

Chara ran, determination fueling their way. Nothing was going to stop them now. They didn't even stop to take a second to appreciate the beauty of the grand hall they had stepped into, they just kept _moving._

Papyrus was standing in front of them, a nervous Sans hovering by his side.

"kiddo - "

But Chara didn't stop, running right past them. Sans reached out, as if to try and stop them, but Papyrus shook his head.

It was already too late for that.

...

Chara moved purposefully, neither rushing nor walking slow, and entered the hall with a calm certainty surrounding them.

They were almost at the end. Temmie would be there, as they had promised. Chara had nothing to worry about, and they would repeat it to themself as many times as they had to.

There was no one else in the hall, and Chara moved on unimpeded.

...

Frisk walked into the throne room, brow furrowed as they pondered what Sans had told them.

Love, not LOVE, huh? To be honest, the whole thing had kind of gone over their head, since they had no idea what he was talking about, but he seemed very passionate about it, so they had tried their best to listen.

Now, however, they had something else to deal with.

Standing in front of them, a gentle expression on his face as he watered the flowers, was the King.

Asgore.

He noticed them approach, and his smile faltered. No words needed to be spoken - they both knew why they were here.

Setting the watering can aside, Asgore nodded to them, a little sadly. Frisk only smiled.

They were going to get through this. And they would do it without anyone getting hurt, or killed. They repeated that enough times in their mind that it had to be engraved there, and their determination pushed them onwards.

Frisk followed Asgore as he walked forward, and he vanished through one final doorway. Floating next to the doorway was another golden star, and Frisk poked it almost compulsively, feeling a rush of determination as they did so.

They were ready. As ready as they were ever going to be, at least.

"Forgive me, child," Asgore said gravely, looking down upon them when they followed him into the room. Behind him, the barrier glowed a brilliant white, and seven soul containers raised from the floor. "But for the future of monsterkind... This must be done."

In his hands appeared a huge trident, the color of blood.

"Goodbye."

...

Frisk kept walking, even though Flowey had yet to appear. He said that he would be there, so they would just have to trust that he would keep his word. Eventually, they turned into a room, and stepped on something... soft.

They sniffed the air lightly. There was something sweet, a scent that they couldn't quite place for a moment. But then it came to them - flowers.

"So, you have arrived..." a voice rumbled. "Follow me."

Frisk gripped their stick a little tighter, fighting back the urge to run away. Flowey wasn't here yet, but he would be. He would be.

They followed the sound of Asgore's footsteps, heading out of the throne room. At one point, they passed by another one of those heated spots.

Frisk backtracked a little, reaching out to wave their hand through the spot like they had before. Somehow, it just seemed... important.

But then they kept moving, stepping into the room where Asgore was waiting. There was a strange humming in the air, and a pressure that kept Frisk glued to the spot.

"This is the barrier," Asgore said. "The prison that is keeping all monsters trapped underground."

Frisk heard a click and a hissing noise, indicating that something was rising from the floor. There was a loud clang, and Asgore slammed his summoned weapon against the ground.

"And now, the barrier will finally be broken!"

...

With adrenaline still running through their veins, Chara slid into the throne room, panting from exertion.

The Queen was there, and she observed them silently for a long moment, before sighing.

"Come," she said formally, sweeping her robes out behind her in a big gesture as she walked out of the room. "It is time we end this."

Chara scowled, feeling rather insulted at being ordered around like that, but they obeyed. They remembered Asgore's words from the beginning of this whole mess, and kept one hand on their knife.

Were they ready? If they wanted to leave here, they would have to kill the Queen. _Could_ they do that? Could they trust themself to go through with it?

They didn't know, but they were sure as hell going to _try._ Chara slashed their hand through the golden star that they passed by, not even slowing down. In the next area, Toriel was waiting, a solemn expression on her face.

"Child..." she began, fire beginning to circle her hands. "I do not want to hurt you. I have never wanted to cause harm to anyone. But the circumstances of this place leave me with no choice. I hope you understand."

Chara snorted, brandishing their knife at her. Sure, they understood. They _understood_ that Toriel had been under pressure to fix things, and had decided to take the easy way out. Killing children really solves the problem quick, doesn't it?

But they weren't going to just roll over and die. Chara was going to _win._

...

When Chara stepped into the throne room, calling out a polite greeting, they were met with a large goat woman in ornate robes. The Queen.

She had a crown that seemed to weigh heavily on her head, and sad, _sad_ eyes.

"Child..." she mumbled, staring at Chara without making a move, as if putting any more effort in would cause her to dust instantly. "You should not have come here."

"Is this not what I am meant to do?" Chara said quietly. Some part of them almost felt guilty for disturbing her, but this was truly the only way. Chara could not stay in the Underground, and the monsters didn't want to either.

However way this ended today, it _was_ going to end.

"Very well," Toriel sighed, getting up from her throne and beginning to walk away. "We might as well get this over with. If you decide to run, I will not hold it against you."

"Thank you for the offer," Chara said, dipping their head slightly in respect. "I don't plan on it, however."

She only blinked morosely, as if she had expected such a thing, but had been hoping for the opposite anyway.

Toriel lead them along, and Chara chanced a glance around, wondering where Temmie was. Didn't they say that they would be here? Hadn't they promised?

They didn't see Temmie, but they did see another one of those golden stars. Casually, Chara swiped their hand through it as they walked by, feeling a surge of determination as they did so.

Temmie or no Temmie, they were going to do this.

Toriel lead them directly in front of the barrier, and she raised her hand, causing seven strange containers to rise from the ground. They had small, floating hearts in them, all but one.

Human souls.

Chara took this in with a calm expression, and then shifted their gaze to Toriel. The Monarch's gaze turned to steel, despite the tiredness still present, and she reached out with hands wreathed in fire.

"This is the end."

...

Frisk dodged and dodged and dodged, never striking out but still trying to reason with the King. Asgore, whether he could actually read their frantic signing or not, didn't respond, his expression merely becoming tight as he threw waves of fire and struck at them with his trident.

At one point, while trying to dodge another swing of his weapon, Frisk accidentally stumbled to the side - directly into the path of Asgore's fire.

...

Frisk stayed perfectly still, and was speared through by a red trident in the first second.

...

Chara struck out, cleaving line after line into Toriel's body, ignoring their own blood that was starting to cake their hands.

They ignored the fire burning them, the way their vision was getting blurry, everything. They could only concentrate on their goal. If they did anything else, they would -

Blood dripping from their mouth, Chara finally didn't manage to dodge in time.

...

Chara did not attack, but didn't stay idle, either. They were stalling, trying to make time for Temmie to fulfill their promise.

Temmie did not come, but Toriel's fire did.

...

The four of them met up again, staring at each other in silence for a moment.

Then they spoke, with one translating for the blind Frisk. They spoke about what they had been through, what they thought was happening, what they thought they should do.

One Frisk signed the word mercy, and the other shrugged helplessly. Both of the red-eyed children fingered the knives in their grip thoughtfully, and thought about what they could do.

Then, as one, their determination surging, they returned to the barrier, in front of their final enemy.

...

They woke up in the dark place again.

Chara signed Asriel's story, and the other one shared their suspicions about Temmie. Frisk spoke about Flowey, about the connection between them. The last child did nothing, for a long time, and then signed about the skeleton brothers, and Undyne, and Mettaton and Alphys.

They signed about Muffet and the spiders, the monsters they had talked to, _everyone._ Frisk told the rest about their Mother, about the nice ice cream man, about the things that were waiting for them on the surface.

Frisk told them the one thing that they all knew - they _had_ to keep going. They had to try again.

...

And again.

...

_And again._

...

Frisk was crying, and maybe Chara was too, maybe they all were, but they still hadn't given up. Not yet, _not yet._

...

It had been who knows how many times, and Frisk was starting to lose hope, and then -

Then, a huge wave of fire appeared in front of Frisk, blocking off Asgore before he could even attack.

Frisk spun around, eyes widening in shock. This had never happened before.

Standing before them, her face set with a determination that could be matched by no other, was Toriel.

...

Frisk wasn't giving up, Flowey had said he would come so he would, they knew he would -

But when Asgore's attack was blocked off, they didn't even have to fake their surprise. Flowey didn't use fire attacks, they could feel the heat coming off of it. So, who...?

"That's enough," Toriel's strong voice said, and Frisk was frozen in shock when the woman gently brushed past them, planting herself firmly in Asgore's path. "There will be no more death. No more killing. I will not allow it."

...

Before Chara could even have a chance to draw their knife once more, a giant fluffy paw on their shoulder stopped them. For one wild moment, they thought it was Asriel, but then they looked up.

Asgore was standing there, a severe expression on his face.

"I will not allow this to continue any further," he rumbled, facing down Toriel, who couldn't help but falter in the face of his conviction. "You have done enough, and I have not done nearly enough. This must end _now."_

...

Chara took a deep breath, trying not to lose their nerve after everything. Temmie may have left them, or maybe something else was going on, but it didn't matter.

Those other kids... They were all trying their best too, and they didn't have allies there to back them up. Chara would not let them down, would not forsake the agreement they had all made when they met in the dark place for what they hoped would be the final time.

Chara raised their knife, preparing to rush Toriel before she could get in a good hit.

But then - they stopped, a furry paw catching their elbow.

"Thank you, child," Asgore said, giving them a small nod before he swept forward, facing a startled-looking Toriel. "But I will take it from here."

...

Monsters gathered in support, showing up one after the other. Some grudgingly, some only because they wanted to see what would happen, but they _all_ came.

One way or another, they wanted everything to end today.

...

"If I let this go on, what would I say to our dear children when I go to meet them someday? If we truly want to live in peace, we must start _here."_

...

"Fighting like this... it has only weakened us. Continuing on this path will not give us anything but more grief. _Please,_ Asgore."

...

"Toriel... _Please._ We have changed. Everyone has, including the humans. There is no need to continue on a pointless crusade that has only hurt us, and taken the lives of six innocent children."

...

"What good does this do us? You can kill the child, yes. And then what? Return to the surface in victory? Think that the humans will not retaliate for their dead children, as we have for ours? If we wish to return to the surface and actually _stay_ there, we cannot end this with violence."

...

**"It must end here."**

...

"You know what?" a new voice said, drawing everyone's attention.

Someone shouted in dismay - pointing. _Look!_ It was a monster, breaking open the soul containers.

"You're absolutely right," this monster continued, giving the gathered assembly a wicked grin. _"It ends here!"_

...

Everything faded away - but this time, it came to white, not black.

When Frisk looked to the side, trying frantically to figure out what was going on, they could see a faint afterimage of Chara, scowling as they brandished their knife to what looked like a huge, scary version of Monster Kid.

In front of them, Asriel smirked, the dark lines on his fur making the expression more menacing than it had any right to be.

"At first, I thought you were Chara," he said, making Frisk jolt in surprise. "But then I realized... You're just an _idiot._ You think you'll be able to change things like this? _Help_ the monsters? You're wrong. And by absorbing everyone's souls, I'll be able to prove it. I have the power of a god now! No one can stop me!"

...

"Flowey..." Frisk whispered, their voice trembling. They recognized the one that was speaking and they had no idea what was going on. Why would he do this?

"No," he said, voice strong and confident in a way that Frisk had never heard from him before. "My name is Asriel. And I'm going to bring an end to this world, this world that has caused everyone so much pain and suffering. I'll remake it! I'll change things so that _everyone_ can be happy, including you Frisk!"

...

"You fool..." Monster Kid sneered, a positively ugly expression on their face. "Did you really think that you would win?"

Chara outright snarled at them, trying to reconcile this creature with the happy and kind monster that Frisk had told them all about.

"You may have been able to rally the other monsters around you, even my _stupid_ brother, but that won't change a thing," they continued, floating high up into the air. "I'm going to end everything! I'll destroy this world that dared to take my sibling away from me and left me to suffer this way!"

...

"Please, forgive me," Monster Kid cried, tears streaming down their face. They had shed the guise of 'Temmie', revealing their true form once again.

Chara only took a deep breath, and faced them. "What do you plan to accomplish with this?"

"I want to... I want to _change_ things!" they said, throwing their arms out. "I can make this world into something better, something that will finally allow all of us to know peace! So, please - "

...

**"JUST LET ME WIN!"**

...

..

.

**[ S A V E ]**

.

...

...

Asriel was the one crying now, losing his intimidating form and falling to his knees.

"I'm so alone, Chara..." he whimpered. "You left, and now I'm all _alone!"_

Someone patted him on the head, gently. He looked up to see Frisk standing there, with a smile.

*You're not alone,* they signed. *Just look around!*

And so, he did.

Somehow, standing near them was another version of himself, and another Frisk. And... _Chara._ There was two different versions of Chara, both standing next to a monster that greatly resembled Monster Kid.

They all crowded around each other, the monsters looking utterly baffled while the human children gave each other knowing looks.

"It's alright," one of the Chara's said soothingly. "We can explain everything. And I think that you all will actually be able to help fill in some of the gaps."

The Monster Kid standing next to them sniffled, clinging to their sleeve. "O-Okay."

All of the human children took turns explaining what they knew, with the monsters interjecting once in a while to ask questions or share astonished exclamations at what had gone on.

Eventually, they came to some kind of conclusion.

Four different timelines, four different universes, crossing paths in such a strange and profound way. An event nexus like no other.

They decided that they had to come up with a name for these universes, something to keep them separated so they could make the distinctions easier. They bickered about what to call them for quite some time, but eventually settled on a naming theme that they were all happy with:

Undertale, Underfell, Underswap, and Swapfell.

Frisk, the one from the newly-dubbed 'Undertale', thought they had a nice ring to them.

"So, what do we do now?" the Asriel from Underfell said quietly, holding one of his Frisk's hands. He had been translating for them, since they couldn't see the sign language that two of the other children used. "Do we just RESET? Would that even help anything?"

"Don't be an idiot," scoffed the Underswap Monster Kid. "RESETing wouldn't fix the problem, since the _problem_ is the barrier. And we can't hold all of these souls inside of us for long. We'll return to our former useless bodies soon enough, so if something is going to happen, it better be quick."

"We should break the barrier," the other Monster Kid blurted out, before shying away somewhat as everyone stared at them incredulously. "I-I mean, we should have enough power, right? And if we all work together..."

The original Asriel, the one from Undertale, had been silent for a while. He was still trying to wrap his mind around things, trying to process the fact that in another universe, there was versions of his sibling that were still alive and well.

"If we break the barrier..." he said slowly, catching their attention. "What would happen to all of us, here? Would we go back to our own timelines and never see each other again?"

There was a stark silence.

*I don't know,* Frisk signed. They really did seem regretful, but despite everything, they were still determined. *But we have to try. Even if we don't see each other again, we can be happy knowing that everyone is living on the surface, finally able to see the sun.*

Everyone glanced around, looking at reactions and waiting to see if anyone would interject. No one did.

"Okay... okay. Let's do this."

...

"It's time... for monsters to finally go free!"

...

There was a sudden sound, like someone dropping a plate, or breaking a window, or cracking open the space between worlds.

The barrier shook, stubbornly resisting up to the last moment, before it finally shuddered and broke right down the middle.

And there was -

_Sunlight._

...

Chara let out a grunt, pushing away whoever had decided it was a good idea to elbow them in the kidney, only to be met with Frisk's shocked face. _What?_

They sat up, looking around, and it was true!

Asgore was standing there, but so was three other Asgores all looking equally confused. They could see different versions of the skeleton brothers, different Undynes, different _everyone!_

Everyone was here, together. They had done it.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" a very angry version of Sans yelled.

The one that Chara was more familiar with, wearing a blue bandana, squawked with outrage. "LANGUAGE!"

That was the moment that everything exploded into chaos. Weapons were drawn, but thankfully no one attack just yet, more confused than anything.

"Wait, wait!" the other Chara called out, holding their hands up in surrender. By their feet, Temmie was cowering into themself.

At the reminder, Chara looked down and saw the Temmie that they had encountered when they first fell to the Underground. Temmie glanced up and stuck their tongue out, but made no move to attack, so they were just going to take what they could get.

"Um, I think we may be able to explain some of this..." Frisk said timidly, holding Flowey in their arms as they stepped forward.

The Toriel from that universe bristled when everyone's focus went to them, moving in front of the child with their arms outstretched.

"If the children believe that they can help, we will let them," she said severely. "If anyone thinks to interfere, they will know the fury of my flames!"

Everyone nodded eagerly, not wanting to get on her bad side any time soon. Amusingly enough, Chara noticed the Toriel from Undertale watching her counterpart and nodding in agreement.

Swapfell Chara gestured for the other children to come closer, and they all did so. Together, they spoke to the gathered monsters in front of them, and Chara noticed that one of the robots, a pink one not unlike Napstaton, was broadcasting the entire scene. He must have a TV station, like Napstaton, so he was letting everyone know what was going on.

Haltingly, and in bits and pieces, the children told everyone what they knew, if not the specifics of it. They mentioned meeting with their counterparts when they first fell to the Underground, and how confused and lost they all were.

Chara signed their part of the story, ignoring Sans and Papyrus' startled looks when they did so. The other Chara did most of the talking, however - not only did they seem polite and nice, they were really good at bullshitting.

No one mentioned the times that they had died, or any other horrible experiences they'd had while Underground. They mentioned only the kindness that they had witnessed, the times when they had been helped, and helped others in return.

The children from the 'darker' universes went out of their way to emphasize their gratitude, towards all monsters but their companions especially.

Frisk spoke candidly about how their blindness had always made things different for them, but how Flowey had worked together with them to make sure that they stayed safe, never making them feel dumb or invalid. The monsters from Frisk's universe all reacted with shock when they realized that Frisk was blind, making Chara want to question their intelligence a bit.

Frisk never opened their eyes!! What other explanation could there be?

But still, the children all worked together, trying their hardest to make everyone get along, and understand just what it meant that they were together now.

Things were going to be so different, but they were _free!_

On that note, Chara also made sure to bring up what they were planning to tell the humans about all this.

Some of the monsters had protested, saying that they were going to wage war against humans, so what did it really matter? But they were brutally shot down, not only by monsters from the 'kinder' universes, but also by their own Rulers.

"There will be no more bloodshed," the dark-robed Asgore said, giving his Undyne a disapproving look. "Nothing will be gained from it. Nothing that we want."

Chara silently let out a sigh of relief. It would have been a _huge_ fucking waste to go through all this, only to end up in an apocalyptic wasteland afterwards.

"Hey..." Frisk spoke up in the ensuing silence, turning to where the other children had been standing. Automatically, Chara reached out their hand and patted the other child on the shoulder, letting them know that they were all still standing here. "I know that we're all together in _here,_ but which universe is it going to be on the outside?"

That was... a legitimate question.

"Let's go find out, shall we?" Chara said calmly, regarding them all with a smile that looked almost genuine. They turned to the Asgore and Toriel from their universe, gesturing for them to go on. "Would your majesties like to do the honors?"

Asgore rumbled out a low laugh, and even the exhausted-looking Toriel cracked a grin.

"Why not have you children go first?" she suggested gently. "You have earned this, I believe."

Chara smirked, and their counterpart did the same.

"Thank you."

As one, the small ragtag group turned, making their way for an exit marked by sunlight. Behind them, all of monsterkind was following.

Chara stepped through the doorway, and was back out on top of the mountain.

Everyone else was still there, they hadn't disappeared or otherwise vanished. This wasn't a dream, or a nightmare.

It was really over.

...

Or so everyone would have liked to think.

_Man,_ Sans thought wryly, humans sure liked to be bureaucratic about things, huh?

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, leaning back in his chair. It felt like they had all been here for a month already, even though it had only been a couple of days. Had to hand it to them, though - the humans were working as fast as they could, trying to get everyone a temporary citizenship card and a place to stay.

Sans had been skeptical at first. Were the humans _really_ gonna go out of their way to try and help monsters?

But, so far, it had been pretty legit. And besides, Frisk had gone out of their way to help monsters, hadn't they?

_...Frisk._ Sans let out a sigh, shoulders drooping. The humans had been accommodating about everything _else,_ but not that.

As soon as the news had broke, as soon as they had explained that they were _not_ here to try and take over the world or anything of that nature, the kids had been whisked away, and not one of them had been seen yet.

He knew that Tori was spitting mad, and the one from Underfell was too. The 'swap' Asgores weren't too happy about it either, and becoming increasingly unhappy every time their request to see the children was denied.

See, that was one thing that Sans didn't get - they had managed to frame this whole thing as weird magic bullshit, so nobody knew that all the monsters were technically from four different universes. But upon learning that this was Frisk's _(their_ Frisk, the one that he adored) native universe, the kid had been quick to claim that the other children were their siblings, who they had left to try and find.

'Left'? What did that mean? Sans knew that the kid must have a family up here somewhere, but had the kid run away or something?

He didn't know, but he _did_ know that right after that happened, several stern-looking police officers had come in and taken all four children away.

The humans had been nice and understanding about everything else, but not that. They wouldn't explain why the children had been taken, or where they were now.

One of his counterparts, the one from Swapfell, was especially angry, always complaining about Temmie keeping him up with their crying, or something like that. Sans could tell that he was just concerned, though.

And, man, wasn't that a weird thing to witness? After everything that had been happening to him recently, alternate universes wasn't even the weirdest thing, but it was still definitely up there.

Still, though... He was more worried about Frisk. Frisk, who was so kind and gentle, and tried their hardest to be a good person no matter what. Frisk, who had looked so utterly devastated when the police officers had pulled them aside.

He didn't know what was going on, but he _was_ going to find out.

...

Frisk had a confession to make.

They had always known that their mother was dead.

They didn't want to admit it. Not to _anyone,_ and especially not to themself. They would have rather been in denial, and died after jumping off a stupid mountain, just like they planned.

It may seem stupid, but... You have to understand.

Frisk was deaf. They had been since the day that they were born. And their mother was _everything_ to them. She was the sun and moon, she was all the stars in the sky. For a long, long time, she was the only voice that Frisk had, the only one who would look at them instead of looking _through_ them.

Frisk knew that they still weren't very old, but they were old _enough._ Old enough to know to know that when someone stops moving, and isn't breathing, and won't wake up whatever you do...

They're dead.

Frisk _knew_ that. They were many things, but an idiot was not one of them.

But what else could they do? Accept it? _Accept_ that the only good thing in their life was gone forever, and about to be replaced by a parade of faceless people that would take Frisk in for a few months in order to look good for the neighbors before being dumped onto someone else?

No. Frisk would rather _die._

Which was what they had set out to do, really.

The others weren't so different. Underfell Frisk claimed that they had gotten lost, had wandered onto the mountain by accident, but they weren't an idiot either. No one does that _accidentally,_ no one goes literally all the way up to the mountain's peak before saying, hey, maybe this isn't the park after all.

Chara had signed, hesitantly and with a dash of embarrassment, that they didn't really remember how they had gotten up the mountain. They only remembered being really angry and upset, and then waking up at the peak. They didn't answer why they had fallen into the mountain, and Frisk got the feeling was that it was because they were too ashamed to say that they had jumped.

Swapfell Chara, that same strange smile on their lips, had merely said that they had been running away from home, trying to teach their parents a lesson. _Well, ha, guess it really worked now,_ they added, sounding just the tiniest bit bitter.

Yeah, that was another thing - one that Frisk couldn't help but feel secretly grateful for. The other kids had families, families that were alive and mostly around and maybe even looking for them, but they could never go back.

Chara would never see their father again, and Frisk would never get to see the foster family that had taken them in again.

Frisk didn't like to admit it, because it made them seem cruel and nasty, but they were _glad._ If they could not have their mother, they really didn't want the other kids to have theirs, as bad as that sounded.

Of course, they didn't say any of that out-loud. And to their credit, none of the other children made fun of Frisk for what they had revealed, about the depths to which their delusion had gone. Chara had even signed, gruffly, that they had done plenty of worse things, including _literally_ stabbing people, so there wasn't much room for judgement.

That, more than anything else, made Frisk grateful. This was not the situation that they wanted, not really the ending that they had hoped for.

But it was probably the best one, even though their mother wasn't there to share it with them.

...

Papyrus was tired. This wasn't exactly a grand revelation, or a new development, but it was particularly pertinent right now.

After all, digging through police files without getting caught was not an easy feat by any means, and he'd really had to work his non-existent ass off to find out what he now knew.

"SO, WHAT IS IT?" demanded the Swapfell counterpart of his brother, making Papyrus shoot him an irritated look.

"i have it right here, keep your shorts on," he drawled, waving his phone to show the photos he'd taken of the police reports.

Swapfell Sans looked ready to blow a gasket, but the Underfell Toriel quickly cut in, bringing everyone back to reality.

"There is no need for antagonizing, on any side," she said severely, giving both of them a warning look.

Queen Toriel, the one that he knew, sighed and nodded. "Yes, we must work together in this trying time. And I know that we are all concerned for the children, but fighting amongst ourselves will not solve the problem."

Papyrus didn't say anything more, merely scrolling through the photos as if looking for where to start. In reality, he was stalling. He hadn't read everything on the files when he had gone through them, but what he _had_ read was enough to turn his non-existent stomach.

It was bad enough that he still felt guilty over Chara. That whole situation had been an utter mess...

He'd _thought_ that he had it under control. The kid was doing the puzzles, and maybe not enjoying them, but at least humoring him. He had noticed them listening to his brother, as well, so he had been hoping that Sans would let them go by without a fight.

He was wrong.

That first time he had seen the human walk past the house, he had thought nothing of it. He knew that Sans was waiting, and he figured that the two would probably come back to the house after their 'battle' to warm up a bit. He even got the hot chocolate all ready to go.

But then... _Then,_ an hour had passed by, and they still hadn't returned. Papyrus had expected at least Sans to be home by this time, so when the clock kept ticking with no one coming, he had set out to find them.

The scene he had come across was _horrifying._

Blood spilled out over the snow, the human's crumpled body laid there in a heap. Sans, too, had seemed to be in shock. The human's soul was no where to be found, and even as Papyrus stood there numbly for a moment, just _watching,_ nothing happened.

When Papyrus stumbled forward, Sans' eyelights snapped to him.

"It shattered," his brother said hoarsely, not even bothering with his usual brash tone.

_"what?"_ Papyrus said, even though he feared that he already knew the answer.

"The human's soul," Sans said blankly. He seemed like he was two seconds away from completely shutting down. "It appeared after I killed them, but then it immediately shattered. I never even had a chance to grab it."

"so..." Papyrus said, his temper rising with every moment. "what you're saying is that you killed a child, and it wasn't even _worth_ it? a child is _dead,_ and their sacrifice means _nothing?"_

He was practically shaking in his rage now, even as Sans flinched, looking down at the ground.

"I-I... I didn't mean to," he whispered, and he looked close to tears. Normally that would have been enough to extinguish Papyrus's ire, never having been able to stay mad at his elder brother for long, but right now he was just furious.

"didn't mean _what?"_ he barked. "didn't mean to kill them, or didn't mean for me to find out?"

The way Sans flinched told him all he needed to know.

Papyrus had never been so _goddamn angry_ in his entire life. But before he even had a chance to berate his brother, the world spun, and he was back at at the house again.

Papyrus sighed, bringing himself back to the present. Chara, understandably, hadn't wanted anything to do with them since.

The child had, once everyone had been enjoying the sunshine on the surface, wandered over to punch Papyrus lightly on the arm before walking away, so that had to be worth _something,_ but they were still in an awkward spot, not at all helped by the fact that Sans was trying his very best to pretend that he had no memory of what happened, even though Papyrus knew him better than that.

But really, that didn't matter right now. _Now,_ they had to try and work together to make up for everything they had missed in the past.

Papyrus cleared his throat (unnecessarily), and began to read.

"frisk, age ten. deaf from birth, no hospital record. previously lived with... _their_ mother," Papyrus said, using the correct pronoun when the records didn't. "no home address, apparently lived in the city park, often moving around during weather changes. two days ago, frisk was reported as missing after their mother was, uh... found dead, and frisk ran away from police custody and seemed to disappear."

"And we all know the rest of that story," the Sans from Undertale said, frowning lightly. His brother seemed to be close to tears, wailing about the 'poor human'.

Papyrus gave them a second to think this over, and then continued with the next kid, the Underfell one.

"frisk, also aged ten. blind from birth, no hospital record. according to the reports, the kid is related to the other frisk, but we know that's not true, so most of their background is unknown. the police are assuming that they lived on the streets with frisk. if we wanted to know more, we would probably have to ask," he mused, making the Toriel from Underfell let out a deep sigh.

"I would be happy to do so if they would just let me _see_ the child," she muttered angrily.

"We're getting there," Asgore soothed, making Papyrus smile reflexively. Man, to think that his friend from behind the door had been the former king all along!

His smile soon faded, however. It was time to move on to Chara, and this was where a lot of the bad stuff hit, as if it hadn't been bad enough before.

"next is chara, age ten," he continued, grabbing everyone's attention as he went back to work. Next to him, his brother flinched. "mute... but as a result of, um, 'outside influence'."

There was a tense silence.

"Meaning?" Asgore said in a near-growl, making Papyrus scramble to explain.

"chara was apparently rendered mute in some kind of attack," he explained, shifting uncomfortably with all their eyes on him. "they refuse to tell the police why, or how it happened, but the report says that the scar left on their neck indicates that the cut was too deep and profound to be anything but deliberate. they don't know whether it was actually the result of someone trying to kill chara, or anything like that, but it seems to be the most likely option."

Sans looked like he was about to faint and also throw-up, nearly drowning in the guilt of what he had done. No, the _muteness_ wasn't even remotely his fault, but killing the kid probably hadn't helped anything.

"it also says..." Papyrus hesitated for a moment, wondering if this was too personal, before ploughing on ahead anyway. This was medical information, and it would definitely come in handy in the future. "well, the report said that they were looking into possibly getting some form of surgery for chara, to reduce the scarring. there's not much of a chance that they could get their voice back, but the scarring that they do have could possibly cause a lot of problems down the road, like something about restricting blood flow, or causing mood-swinging. they're not sure, it's all quite theoretical right now."

"I doubt we would have to worry about that anyway," Asgore sighed, rubbing his forehead. He looked about ten times older than he was, in this moment. His son Asriel was standing next to him, and had a very similar look on his face. "Chara would never agree to have surgery, regardless of the possible injuries. They're a very independent child, and I don't think the vulnerability in such a situation would agree with them."

Asriel nodded, shifting his poncho to be a bit more comfortable. "Yeah, I think he's right. There's nothing that we can do about it right now, anyway."

"So, move on to the other one!" the other Asriel spoke up impatiently. The Swapfell Temmie was sitting in his lap, looking increasingly distraught.

Apparently, Temmie was actually the deceased sibling of Prince Asriel, and the form they took had once been their favorite toy, which Undyne had sweated greatly about when it was revealed. But both Asriel's had been happy to have at least some form of their sibling back, and the Swapfell one refused to let go of Temmie under any circumstance.

He seemed to be holding a bit of a grudge against the Chara of his universe for 'stealing' Temmie in the first place, but he was at least _trying_ to be nice about it.

"i'm getting to it," Papyrus said, quickly pulling up the right file on his phone. "okay... here. chara, aged ten. has, um, excuse me if i pronounce this wrong - 'congenital insensitivity to pain’? their nerves are pretty much shot, apparently. they can't feel extreme temperatures, or basically any kind of pain."

Most of the monsters from the Swapfell universe reacted with surprise, including Alphys who started yelling incoherently about 'tricks', but the skeleton brothers made no reaction.

The Asgore of that universe noticed it, because he glanced at them with shrewd eyes. "You knew?"

All attention went to Swapfell Sans, and he shrugged, glancing at his brother for a moment.

"WE DID NOT KNOW OF THE NAME, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT WE SUSPECTED," he admitted.

"How?!" Alphys yelled, practically shaking her lieutenant by the shoulders. "UGH! No wonder that little punk didn't react when I threatened to kill them!"

Sans pushed her off of him, giving her a reproachful look. "WE KNEW BECAUSE WHEN THE HUMAN WAS IN SNOWDIN, THEY BROKE THEIR ARM. BONE WAS POKING OUT AND EVERYTHING, BUT THEY BARELY REACTED."

The other Papyrus nodded, speaking up. "it's true. the only real concern they seemed to have was whether temmie was okay."

The monster in question only shrugged. "Chara said that they couldn't feel pain, but I wasn't sure how serious they were being."

"Alright..." the Undertale Toriel said, sighing. "So, now we know more about them, but why are they being held?"

"IS IT NOT OBVIOUS?" the Papyrus from Underfell scoffed, ignoring the warning glance that his own Toriel shot him. "THE HUMAN POLICE FORCE BELIEVE ALL OF THE CHILDREN TO BE RELATED. AND AS FAR AS THEY KNOW, THEIR ONLY LIVING RELATIVE IS DEAD. THEY ARE TRYING TO FIND SOME PLACE TO PUT THE CHILDREN. AN ORPHANAGE, MOST LIKELY."

Papyrus blinked, a bit surprised at such concise words coming from his counterpart that had really only screamed and complained about shit since he got up here.

"uh, yeah," he said slowly. "the kids don't have any living relatives left, as far as they can find. they're gonna try and place the kids in some kind of temporary home for now, but apparently they're putting up a bit of a fight."

"Really?" that strange flower monster from Underfell said, perking up. He had been silent this whole time, merely absorbing the information presented. "They're protesting it?"

"yep," Papyrus nodded. "the reports don't say why exactly, they just say it's 'behavioral issues' but i would bet you anything that it's because they want to be back with us, and for whatever reason, the humans won't allow it."

"that's _bullshit,"_ the Sans from Underfell grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. Papyrus almost expected his brother to scold him for his language, but when he glanced over, Sans looked like he was in agreement. "they're the ones who lost the kids in the first place, why do _they_ get a say in who they stay with?"

"I'm sure it is an important part of their laws," Queen Toriel said, though she also didn't seem too enthused by the whole thing. "We must remember, they are humans, and human children. As much as we may wish to be with them, to help care for them and repay them for all that they've done, right now it is not our place."

Her words left a strained silence throughout the room. Nobody wanted to admit that she was right.

Honestly, Papyrus had been considering a little jailbreak idea of his own, but he knew deep down that it would only exacerbate the issue. Things were going well right now with the humans, _much_ better than any of them could have expected.

They couldn't sacrifice the wellbeing of all monsters just for the sake of four human children.

...Even if those children were the ones to save them in the first place.

Papyrus let out a sigh, sticking his phone back in his pocket and scrubbing his hand over his skull. It had been a long day, and he had the feeling that it was only going to get longer.

...

"I want to be with the monsters," Frisk insisted, trying to seem resolute even when their voice was shaky. They were fidgeting in the chair, picking at their hands since they didn't have anything else to do. Someone had taken their stick away from them, saying that it wasn't safe. Frisk hoped they would get it back, though they doubted it somehow.

"I know, sweetie," the therapist said. She _did_ sound very sympathetic, but sympathy wasn't what Frisk needed right now - they needed _action._ "But the monsters aren't even official citizens right now, so they can't adopt you."

Frisk frowned, wondering when they had said anything of the sort. "I don't need them to adopt me. If you're just going to place me in a temporary home anyway, why can't I be with them?"

Even if the thought of being adopted _was_ a nice one, they knew that right now was hardly the right time. Besides, most of the monsters in the Underground had tried to kill Frisk, and they didn't think that Flowey would be able to adopt them at all, even when he _did_ become a citizen.

Well, maybe if they were able to convince the others that he was an adult... But Toriel probably wouldn't let that happen.

"It's not the same," she explained patiently. They had honestly been going around in circles for a while now, but she still hadn't given up. "They would have to be certified to do that anyway, and there's a lot of red tape involved in that kind of thing. We're not sending you to just any random place, but one that has certain qualifications for you and your siblings... _needs."_

Frisk scowled, taking courage from Chara, who had been able to get their therapist to back down yesterday with nothing more than a few pointed signs and an impressive glare.

"You're not sending me anywhere!" they snapped, crossing their arms over their chest. "I'll stay in the police station if I have to, but I'm _not_ leaving Ebott!"

They knew how the game worked - though they didn't technically exist in this universe, they had been in foster care for _many_ years. They would send Frisk far enough away that the monsters would have trouble contacting them, and hope that Frisk would forget about the whole experience soon enough.

They didn't think that it was an entirely malicious thing, but it was one that had certain biases.

"Frisk, I know that you're upset," the therapist began, which was an okay start until they ruined it with their follow-up. "But we don't actually need your permission."

"I'll run away," Frisk said immediately. "You can't keep me anywhere I don't want to."

And they _had_ run away before, when a home had become too much for them. They'd been caught by CPS pretty quickly, but they knew how to do it, and what to look out for (metaphorically speaking). They had no doubt that their counterparts would be able to escape easily as well, especially Frisk, who had been homeless before, and was therefore very good at roaming around unnoticed.

The therapist fell into an uneasy silence, and Frisk felt rather triumphant. They knew that the others had also been arguing against placement, no matter the concessions they were given.

Frisk had never had a family, not like the others. They weren't sure if the monsters were really the destined family that they had always hoped for, but they were certainly the only ones who had actually made Frisk want to _try._

...

Chara paced back and forth, a sense of vague uneasiness plaguing them.

Thanks to support from the public and other activists (and in no small part due to Napstaton and their counterparts for endearing monsters to the humans with their programming), all the processes for monsters had been streamlined. They had received full rights and citizenship last week, and today was the day that the children were finally able to go home with them.

Chara's counterparts were all wandering the hotel, saying goodbye to the staff they had gotten to know during their stay.

There had eventually been a compromise, where the four children who were being touted as responsible for breaking the barrier were allowed to stay in the hotel that was currently the residence of all the different members of monster royalty, along with a lot of other government officials that were working together with the monarchs of the Underground to make legislation and the like.

But now, with the help of magic, enough houses had finally been completely for monsters to move in.

During that wait time, Chara had been... uncharacteristically restless. They still weren't really allowed to interact with anyone outside the hotel, which meant that their visits with Temmie had been sparse and secretive, but...

It wasn't _just_ that.

For some, strange, completely inexplicable reason... Chara was missing their parents. There was no real explanation for it - they had been emotionally abusive towards each other and Chara, never able to hold their tempers even as they tried so hard to pretend to be the perfect parents.

Maybe that _was_ the problem, though. How long can you pretend to be something before it starts to become real?

Chara's parents had been a wreck, stuck in a relationship that they should have undoubtedly dumped years ago, and feeling obligated to stick around because they had a child who had a 'chronic illness'.

Did Chara feel guilty? _Yes._ Was any of it really their fault? _No._ But they couldn't help thinking about the what-ifs, about what they could have done to be a better child, or possibly tricked them into being better parents.

They knew that it wasn't _their_ job to convince their parents not to yell at each other, or throw plates, or anything like that, but still...

And the real issue here was that they would never get the chance. They had run away from home in a fit of mischief and the tiniest dash of anger, and there was nothing that they could do to take that back.

Chara was never going to see their parents again. Maybe they wouldn't have _wanted_ to, maybe they would have wanted to tell their parents to screw off and leave them alone, but now _they would not get that choice._

Really, Chara was happy. Chara was happy that they were now living in what was apparently the best of all choices they could have made, happy that they would be able to spend time with Frisk and their other counterparts without it being because they had just kicked it, happy that they saved the monsters and were able to bring sunlight back to them again.

But... _But._ Some part of them still wished that they could start all over again and decide to stay home that time, just to see what would have happened.

"What are you moping around in here for, peasant?" a voice snapped from behind them.

Chara turned, and raised their eyebrow. It was Asriel, of course. He was the only one who referred to them like that.

"Oh, hello your majesty," Chara greeted with the slightest trace of sarcasm, enjoying the way his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he tried to figure out their intentions. "I'm sorry, am I disturbing you in some way?"

"Yes," he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "The car is here, and everyone is ready to go except for you. What have you even been doing all day, just lollygagging about?"

"Yes, it's my new hobby," Chara said dryly, though they couldn't help the amusement they felt when he groaned dramatically.

Asriel really wasn't such a bad guy when you got to know him, though he was definitely still a total brat.

“C’mon,” he said gruffly, gesturing for them to follow him. "You can do more of that at home."

_Home._ Chara gave the crown prince a genuine smile, stooping to grab their bag and following after him.

That sounded pretty nice, right about now.

...

"so, the mystery is all complete, huh?" Sans mused to himself, looking up at the night sky as he smoked a cigarette. he chuckled lowly, eyes fixed upon the brilliant stars that were shining down on him. "guess you were right after all, old man."

His counterpart laughed too, an easy grin on his face. "i can still hardly believe it... determination can do some amazing things, huh?"

Sans merely grunted. It was astonishing, what those kids had done, and he didn't think they even realized the scope of it.

He stubbed out the remains of his smoke, getting to his feet with a groan. "about time to turn in, i think. we wait any longer and boss will be out here screaming at us for missing movie night."

"no kidding," the other Sans snorted, though the sound was fond. Papyrus was Papyrus, after all.

The two headed in together, seeing everybody set up in the living room. Well, _almost_ everybody.

"the kids not joining tonight?" he asked, catching Tori's eye.

She shook her head, smiling at him. "No, it is a bit too late this time. We just sent them off, you can go up and say goodnight if you want."

Sans nodded, and left the room without another word, heading up the stairs.

Despite the amount of monsters who were in this house daily, it wasn't incredibly big. The royals, the weird flower and toy kids, and the human children lived here.

By their own request, the kids shared a room, so Sans was able to check on all of them at once, which... he did, more often than he would like to admit.

Frisk, _his_ Frisk, was a sweetheart. He felt a bit protective over them, especially after seeing them get an axe to the back like they had. Learning that they were blind had only exacerbated his feelings, and he would get anxious if he didn't see them at least once a day.

Slowly, his feelings for the other kids had morphed towards that too. They were all good kids - sometimes mischievous, sometimes volatile, but hell - if _anyone_ knew how to deal with that, it would be Sans.

Frisk and Chara, Chara and Frisk. Four very different children, who had made very similar choices. Sans honestly had no idea what they would have done if those kids hadn't come along.

They wouldn't be here certainly - in a nice house, in a surface world that at least _tolerated_ them, and was working hard to embrace them.

Humanity was... not as awful as he had expected. Humans had changed over the years, just like the monsters did. In some good ways, and some bad ways, but they had to work with what they had.

That was something that Sans excelled in, at least.

His mind was still swirling with all these thoughts about timelines and universes and what the choices we make say about us as a person, but he took the time to carefully crack the kids' door open, peeking inside.

The lights were off, but for a split-second, he could have sworn he saw a figure standing in the middle of the room, between the two bunk beds.

The figure turned to him, his cracked bone face revealed for only a second before he faded away, like he had never been there in the first place.

Silently, Sans shut the door.

Then he slid down to sit in front of it, muffling his laughter with the sleeve of his jacket.

"thanks, old man."

Seemed like there was a lot to be thankful for.

...

Toriel looked proudly over her kitchen, smiling softly at the image presented. Bustling with children and friends, her home was never quiet for long.

And she absolutely loved it.

"Pass me the butter please!"

"I'm using it right now!"

"You've been meticulously buttering your toast for the past five minutes, _hurry it up already!"_

It was only eight in the morning, but the house had already descended into bickering, the children ribbing each other good-naturedly as the adults watched on fondly.

They had a couple of guests this morning - the Alphys from Swapfell, who was regaling her Chara with tales of her exciting youth, which conspicuously only had incidents in which she climbed mountains or beat up unnamed bad guys with her bare hands. Chara seemed amused, which was pretty much their default state, but the child's eyes were soft, and their smile was kind.

The Undyne of Toriel's own universe was there as well, patiently teaching Frisk how to play the piano. Toriel had been a little worried about that at first, for several reasons - one, Undyne had admitted to trying to spear Frisk at one point, and two, Frisk was deaf.

But Undyne had done a lot of research once Frisk had expressed an interest, and worked hard to show them the correct notes, and how to 'feel' the vibrations they made in the air. So far, Frisk was doing splendidly, and looked forward to it every week.

The Chara of Underswap had... mellowed out, a little bit. They still tended to get twitchy and nervous if things went too far off-schedule, and sometimes they looked so much like the Chara that Toriel had once knew that it made her soul ache, but they _were_ getting better.

They had started to insist on spending a lot of time with their Sans and Papyrus, too. They seemed to think of it as some kind of challenge, but the skeleton brothers just seemed thrilled that Chara was willing to hang out with them in the first place. It had been tense in the beginning, and there had been many a time when Chara had stormed home by themself, but they always seemed a little bit happier now when they were there.

The Underfell Frisk had been spending a lot of their time reading, absolutely thrilled when they discovered that Toriel and the other adults were more than happy to buy them some braille books. Toriel often witnessed them sitting in the living room, reading aloud to Flowey - sometimes both of them.

Everyone was recovering, everyone was finding peace. It wasn't was by any means. There was still some days that Toriel could not bear to look her former husband in the face, and she could only spend so much time with the Flowey of her universe before it began to ache, but she _was_ recovering.

She was moving forward, just as they all were.

Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> toriel: welcome home, everyone  
> the kids: glad to be here
> 
> **thank you all so much for reading!**
> 
> go [here](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com/post/178574267741/with-you-here-between-closing) to read about my thoughts on this fic, and go [here](https://theragingprophet.tumblr.com/post/178574255766/with-you-here-between-special) for a special reward!!


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